The Princess Commander
by CyberChick135
Summary: I, Rayleigh Griffin, am among 100 juvenile delinquents who are sent down to Earth. On this journey, I learn first hand what it means to be a leader, earning me the nickname "Princess Commander". Not only do I need to keep my people alive, but I soon find myself falling for a man I thought I would never see again. However, my main priority is the safety of my younger twin, Clarke.
1. Prologue and Cast List

**Prologue + Main Cast**

I, Rayleigh Griffin, daughter of Jake and Abigail Griffin and older twin sister of Clarke, was born in space. I've never felt the sun on my face, breathed real air, or floated in the water. None of us have. For three generations, the Ark has kept what's left of the human race alive. Only now our home is dying, and we that remain are the last hope of mankind. A hundred prisoners, me and my sister included, are sent on a desperate mission to the ground. Each of us is here because we broke the law. However, on the ground, there is no law. All we have to do is survive; but we will be tested by the Earth, by the secrets it hides, and most of all by each other. This is that very tale, of the trials we will face, given to us by Earth herself.

 **Cast of Characters**

 **Claire Holt as Rayleigh "Ray" Griffin:** (Pronounced Ray-Lee) Main character in this story serving also as it's narrator. She's the oldest daughter of Jake and Abby, as well as Clarke's older sister (by less than one minute). Rayleigh also serves as a co-leader of the 100, their head medic, and also a future love interest for Bellamy Blake.

 **Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin:** Main character in this story, younger sister to it's narrator. Clarke also co-leades the 100 along with Rayleigh and also serves as a medic, aiding her sister whenever possible. Due to past incidents, Clarke is only fully trusting of Rayleigh, and somewhat looks up to her.

 **Paige Turco as Dr. Abigail Griffin:** The mother of Rayleigh and Clarke. She is the chief medical officer of the Ark and the main proponent regarding the habitable status of Earth

 **Thomas McDonell as Finn Collins:** A caring teenager who is always looking for fun and a peaceful solution. He is more interested in helping others than seeking vengeance.

 **Eli Goree as Wells Jaha:** Rayleigh and Clarke's childhood best friend and son of the Thelonious Jaha, the Ark's Chancellor. He is despised by the some of the 100 because of his father. Wells is also Rayleigh's ex-boyfriend, but despite her apparent hatred towards him, he still loves her deeply.

 **Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia Blake:** A main character and is also Bellamy's younger sister. She was kept a secret by her family, living under the floor to avoid detection by authorities, but was eventually caught and imprisoned. There are a few years between Octaivia's age and Bellamy's.

 **Bob Morely as Bellamy Blake:** A main character and older brother of Octavia. He's the first to proclaim himself the leader of the 100 and uses militaristic approaches. It is revealed later on that back on the Ark, he had a budding relationship with Rayleigh Griffin and showed to have feelings for her, though she was alredy in-love with Wells at this time. However, despite that knowledge, Bellamy's feelings only grew. Due to their clashing personalities, Bellamy and Rayeligh get into heated arguments from time to time.

 **Christopher Larkin as Monty Green:** A smart and tech-savvy teenager who is a valuable asset to the teenagers on Earth due to his pharmaceutical and engineering knowledge.

 **Devon Bostick as Jasper Jordan:** A goofy and geeky chemist and is also Monty's best friend.

 **Isaiah Washington as Thelonious Jaha:** Wells' father and the former Chancellor of the Ark.

 **Henry Ian Cusick as Marcus Kane:** One of the Councillors on the Ark. When Thelonious Jaha was Chancellor, he was second-in-command.

 **Lindsey Morgan as Raven Reyes:** An ambitious zero-gravity mechanic when on board the Ark who isn't afraid of anyone or anything. She later collaborates with Abby Griffin in her escape from the Ark and launched herself in a pod to Earth.

 **Ricky Whittle as Lincoln:** A grounder who rescues Octavia. The pair develop romantic feelings, and Lincoln helps the 100 multiple times, causing him to be viewed as a traitor to his people.

 **Richard Harmon as John Murphy:** He starts out as one of Bellamy's men and is generally disliked by the group due to his reputation of being a troublemaker and career criminal, making him one of the few members to actually have committed actual felons and not petty misdemeanors.


	2. Welcome to Earth

**Welcome to Earth**

 **A/N: This chapter has been slightly updated, with a few minor corrections.**

* * *

It's been roughly eleven months or so that I've been in solitary. Actually, I wouldn't really call it that because I'm not in this stupid cell alone. I have a cellmate, my less-than-a-minute younger sister Clarke. The reason we're in a solitary cell is simple; we knew a secret that would mean death for all of us on the Ark come two years or so. Well, our father was the one who found out and was subsequently executed because of it, Clarke and I were imprisoned in solitary so we wouldn't spill the secret. So what do two 17 year old girls do locked in a cell 24 hours a day? Clark draws on whatever free space she can. Me, I just lay on the top bunk and visualize a different life; one where I'm somewhere other than in a cell located on a floating hunk of metal in space.

I close my eyes and suddenly I'm somewhere foreign to my generation; Planet Earth. I can feel the sun on my face. Looking around me, I see trees all around, stretching for miles in all directions. The scent of wildflowers on the breeze smells divine and I think to myself _"It's so beautiful."_

It's been 97 years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth, leaving the planet simmering in radiation. Fortunately for the human race, there were survivors at the time of the bombs. There is now only The Ark, one station forged from the many. We're told the Earth needs another 100 years to become survivable again and man can go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream. However, this is reality.

The door to the cell opened and two Guardsman came in, "Prisoners 318 and 319." they announced.

Reality sucks.

"Face the wall." One guard commanded, pushing my sister against the cell wall.

"Hey!" I yelled, jumping from the bed. "What is this about?"

My answer was a shove and I braced myself as the guard grabbed my right arm. The other guard did the same to Clarke.

"No. It's not our time." Clark told the guards. "We don't turn 18 for another month."

I rolled my eyes and kicked the guard holding me in the kneecaps and elbowed the second guard in the nose. I grabbed Clarke's arm and we ran out of the cell, and that's when we saw others being taken.

See, here on The Ark, every crime, no matter how small, is punishable by death, unless you're under 18, like my sister and I, then you're a juvenile offender. Juvenile offenders get put in lockup, what Clarke and I have dubbed the Sky Box.

I glanced to my left and saw the look of fear and worry in Clarke's eyes. The guards from our cell came after us, only to be stopped when someone said mine and my sister's names. It was our mother, Dr. Abigail Griffin. She ran up and pulled us close.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked, demanding answers. I hate not knowing everthing. "What is this?"

"They're killing us all, aren't they?" Clarke started breathing heavily the moment the thought left her mouth. "Reducing population to make more time for the rest of you?"

Our mother shook her head, taking our hands. "No my girls." she answered. "You're not being executed. You're being sent to the ground, all 100 of you."

The ground, another name for Earth. The radiation soaked planet our race used to call home.

"Are they out of their minds?" I gaped. "Who knows if it's even possible to survive down there?"

Clarke shook her head, her breathing regulating. "No. We get reviewed at 18." she reminded.

"The rules have changed." mom told us. "This gives the both of you a chance to live." she caressed Clarke's cheek before embracing her, whispering something in her ear I could barely make out. Then, she turned to me, embracing me as well. "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father." she whispered. "Look out for your sister." she pulled away and pulled Clarke towards us with her other arm. "Be careful. I can't lose you girls, too." mom's voice cracked as she pulled away to look at us. "I love you both so much."

I felt a pinch in my hip and everything went dark instantly. Tranquilizers, go figure.

* * *

When the drug wore off and everything was returning, I woke up to find myself strapped down. I looked around and saw that everyone was strapped in, which meant only one thing; we were in a ship. I also took notice of a clunky, metal wristband on my right arm.

"Welcome back." an all to familiar voice said beside me. I looked in his direction, my eyes narrowed into a harsh glare.

"Wells, why the hell are you here?" I spat.

"When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested." my ex-boyfriend, Wells Jaha, answered. "I came for you."

A sudden shock jolted the ship and from my left, Clarke clung to my arm in a death grip.

"What was that?" she asked, worried.

"That was the atmosphere." Wells answered.

Clarke looked at him, then to me. "Why is he here?" she asked me.

"Got himself arrested." I answered. "Some lame attempt to win me back probably backfired."

The various screens located around the ship came on and an image of Chancellor Jaha appeared. "Prisoners of The Ark, here me now." he greeted. "You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

A random prisoner scoffed, "Your dad's a dick, Wells."

"If you do indeed survive, than those crimes will be forgiven." Jaha continued. "Your records will be wiped clean."

I rolled my eyes and clasped my sister's hand, turning to face her. "It's gonna be okay, Clarke." I told her, trying to calm her down. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Rayleigh, I'm scared." Clarke whispered, clutching my hand.

"So am I." I replied, caressing her hand. "Don't worry, I'm here and I'll keep you safe."

Clarke regulated her breathing and laid her head on my shoulder. I laid my head on top of hers, letting her know that her big sister was there to protect her.

Jaha's message continued to play on the screens. "The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years."

I couldn't make out the rest of the message because one of the kids, unbuckled his seat belts and was now nearly hovering right in front of Wells, Clarke, and I.

"Looks like your dad floated me, after all." the delinquent chuckled. He had a cocky look to him and just rolled my eyes.

"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy." Wells advised.

I looked around and saw two other boys trying unbuckle their seatbelts as well. "Hey, you two, stay put if you want to live!" I shouted.

"Hey, you're the two traitors who've been in solitary for nearly a year." the hovering delinquent noted, cracking a smirk.

I rolled my eyes in response.

"And you're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk." Clarke replied, her voice sharp.

"But it was fun." the guy chuckled. "I'm Finn."

"Stay in your seats!" I yelled at two boys who were hovering above their seats.

Another jolt rocked the ship and sent Finn crashing next to Clarke and the other two boys into the side paneling, knocking some tubes loose. Clarke clutched my hand tightly as the lights flickered on and off. She was bracing herself in her seat, eyes squeezed shut.

"Retrorockets ought to have fired by now." Wells noted.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, "Okay, everything on this ship is a hundred years old. Just give it a second."

Wells took my other hand, making me look at him. "Listen Rayleigh, there's something I have to tell you. I'm sorry I got your father arrested."

"Don't you dare talk about my father." I snapped.

"Please" Wells' eyes were pleading, so I let him continue. "I can't die knowing that you hate me."

"They didn't arrest my father, Wells." I informed. "They executed him." I ripped my hand away from his. "I do hate you."

* * *

Everyone on the ship was shouting as the rockets suddenly activated. I closed my eyes, squeezing my sister's hand, preparing for the inevitable end. A crashing sound was heard, then silence.

"Listen." said an Asian delinquent, who I heard was named Monty. "No machine hum."

The delinquent next to him, Jasper, went to unbuckle his straps. "That's a first."

The lights came back on and everyone was scrambling to get out. After Clarke and I stood up, she embraced me, sighing in relief. She then knelt down to check on one of the boys who flew into the wall. Both were unresponsive.

"The outer door is on the lower level." someone yelled.

"Let's go." another one agreed.

And then everyone was scrambling down the ladders. I rolled my eyes and pushed through the crowd. Someone had to be responsible and level headed.

* * *

When I made it to the lower level, I saw a guy, older than my mere 17 years, in a Guards uniform standing by the exit. When I saw his face, I mentally cursed and shook my head.

"We can't just open the doors." I called out, jumping down from the ladder.

"Hey, just back it up, guys." the one and only Bellamy Blake ordered, calmly. Yet another guy from my past I would hope not to see ever again.

"Stop." I shouted, walking up to him with Clarke right behind me. "The air out there could be toxic."

Bellamy looked down at me, a smirk across his face. "If the air is toxic, we're all dead, anyway, Princess."

A girl came down from the upper level and walked through the crowd, recognizing Bellamy. And Bellamy seemed to recognize her as well.

"My God, look how big you are." he noted, as the girl, younger than me, embraced him tightly.

"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asked, noting the absence of one on Bellamy's wrist.

"Do you mind?" the girl scoffed, looking at us. "I haven't seen my brother in a year."

"No one has a brother." someone stated. "Or a sister for that matter."

Unless you're a twin, like Clarke and I. Although, some people only say that the reason both of us are alive is because our parents were so well respected that it would be unwise to depress them by killing one of their children.

"That's Octavia Blake." a female delinquent shouted. "The girl they found hidden in the floor."

Octavia turned in that direction, and went to attack whomever shouted at her, but Bellamy held her at bay. "Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by."

"Like what?" Octavia questioned.

"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years." Bellamy answered, smiling.

Octavia returned the smile as Bellamy pulled the lever, opening the drop ship doors, creating a backlash of air. The sun shone brightly and I had to blink to adjust. Octavia slowly took a deep breath and exhaled, walking down the drawbridge and taking in the Earth around her.

She held up her arms and exclaimed, "We're back, bitches!" And that was followed by the rest cheering and running out of the ship, whooping and hollering.

There was a bag near the door and I grabbed it, taking the map inside, out. Clarke walked beside me as we took in the forest around us. I reached up and touched the ring around my neck, caressing the band. "We made it dad." I muttered, unrolling the map I held.

* * *

Clarke and I stood on a small hill, and I clearly saw a mountain in the distance, which could only be Mount Weather.

"That's Mount Weather?" Clarke asked, looking at the map.

I nodded, sighing heavily. "Yeah."

"Why so serious?" Finn asked, walking up to us. "It's not like we died in a fiery explosion."

"Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats." Clarke scoffed.

Finn raised an eyebrow, pretending to be hurt by Clarke's tone. "Ouch, Princess." he sarcastically sighed.

"See that peak over there?" I asked, trying to get this fool to be serious. "That's Mount Weather."

"What about it, slightly older Princess?" Finn asked, shrugging.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "There's a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal." she informed.

I sighed, rolling up the map. "They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain, you space-walking idiot." I scoffed, heading back to the drop ship.

* * *

While the rest of the juveniles were busy enjoying freedom down here on Earth, Clarke was marking on the map, trying to find the best course of action to take in getting to Mount Weather. I paced in front of the drop ship, fighting the urge to strangle the idiots I was stuck here with. My eyes found Bellamy, who was talking with Octavia, and once he looked up and saw me, I looked away.

"We got problems." Wells said, walking up to me. I turned fully to face him, my arms folded over my chest. "The communications system is dead." he went on. "I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."

"Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather." I reminded, walking up to Clarke. "What do you got, little sister?"

Clarke nudged my arm, giving me a small smile. "Okay, well, this is us." she pointed to an area on the map, which was our landing site. "This is where we need to get to if we want to survive." she drew a straight line connecting our landing site to Mount Weather, our destination.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Wells asked; a questioned which made us both stiffen. He sighed when he realized the answer.

"Ah, cool, a map." the kid named Jasper chuckled from behind us. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you girls a beer."

Wells stepped up, getting in between Jasper and me and Clarke. "You mind?" he questioned, grabbing Jasper by his jacket.

"Hey, hands off of him." said another male, who I didn't trust at all. "He's with us." he approached us with a group of guys.

Wells held his hands up defensively. "Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are."

"We're on the ground." Bellamy reminded, making us look in his direction. "That not good enough for you?"

"We need to find Mount Weather." Wells rebuked, staying calm. "You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."

"Screw your father." Octavia shot, shaking her head and focusing on Wells and me. "What, you think you're in charge here? You and your little Princess?"

I rolled my eyes at the stupid 'Princess' comment. "You think we care who's in charge?" I pointed out. "We need to get to Mount Weather not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be."

"How long do you think we'll last without those supplies?" Clarke spoke up, standing next to me. "We're looking at a twenty-mile trek. So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."

"I got a better idea." Bellamy threw out. "The three of you go and find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change."

The rest of the 96 kids shouted agreement in unison. I could see Wells struggling to keep them focused on the main objective of all of this. "We all need to go." he reiterated.

The criminal delinquent, John Murphy, the one I don't trust already, cracked a smile. "Look at this everybody, The Chancellor of Earth."

"Think that's funny?" Wells challenged, stepping up to Murphy.

"Easy Wells." I urged, trying to get him to back off. "He's not worth it."

"Listen to your little Princess, Chancellor." Murphy pressed, smirking. "Or is she gonna fight your battles for you?"

"Piss off asshole." I shot, shrugging him off.

"You wanna go Princess?" Murphy grabbed my arm and Wells decked him in the jaw.

The fight started and everyone was cheering. I shook my head, "And the anarchy ensues." I muttered, turning to face Clarke. "If this frame of mind keeps up, we'll kill each other, if the lingering radiation doesn't kill us first."

Just as Murphy was gonna get in another hit at Wells, who was putting more pressure on his right leg, Finn flipped down and stood in between the two boys. "Kid's got one leg." he pointed out. "How about you wait until it's a fair fight?"

* * *

Everyone broke off once the fight was over, and since I had medical training, I knelt down to check on Wells.

"So Mount Weather." Finn stated, clearing his throat and standing behind Clarke. "When do we leave?"

"Right now." Clarke answered, helping me to my feet.

I looked down at Wells. "We'll be back tomorrow with food."

"How are the three of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred?" Wells asked.

Finn grabbed the two boys, Monty and Jasper, and pulled them closer. "Five." he corrected. "Can we go now?"

"Sounds like a party." Octavia giggled, joining us. "Make it six."

"What the hell are you doing?" Bellamy asked, taking his sister's arm.

"Going for a walk." Octavia answered, casually.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Hey, were you trying to take this off?" she asked Finn, showing off a crack in his wristband.

"Yeah." he answered. "So?"

"So this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark." I informed, getting really irritated at the level of stupidity I was surrounded by. "Take it off, and they'll think you're dead."

"Should I care?" Finn shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you want the people you love to think you're dead?" Clarke asked, concerned. "Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."

I rubbed my temples, taking a deep breath and exhaled. When I opened my eyes I saw Wells, looking up at me, I shook my head. "You shouldn't have followed me down here, Wells." I told him, walking to the drawbridge and grabbed the map, as well as the small backpack it came in.

When I turned around, Bellamy was right there. "Do you want me to break your nose?" I accused.

"Easy Princess, put the claws away." Bellamy eased. "I just wanted to tell you something before you went off."

"Get on with it." I snapped, standing firm.

Bellamy leaned in closer, wearing a smirk. "Try not to break a nail or anything." he whispered.

I slid the backpack straps over my shoulders, holding the rolled up map. "Clever." I chuckled, sarcastically. I stepped forward, leaving all but a few inches between Bellamy and I. "For a wannabe Guardsman." I smiled and spun on my heels, walking away. "Let's go."

* * *

As Clarke and I walked the trail leading us to Mount Weather, the other four were lagging behind. I halted and turned to face them, "Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" I asked, as nicely as I could.

"Come on." Finn sighed. "How do you block all this out?"

Clarke sighed. "Well, it's simple." she answered. "I wonder, 'why haven't we seen any animals?' Maybe it's because there are none. Or, maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us."

"Come on." I motioned for them to follow as I continued down the trail, glancing at the map every few steps.

"Ray." Clarke whispered, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I asked, catching myself before I tripped.

My younger twin pointed ahead and pulled me low to the ground. I gasped as I watched a grown, male deer walk into the clearing lowering it's head to eat.

"No animals, huh?" Finn repeated, kneeling next to Clarke. When he went to get a closer look, a twig snapped and the deer's head jerked up and looked in our direction. We all gasped as we saw the second face growing from it's cheek, before it leaped off into the distance.

"Okay, that was defiantly different." I muttered, standing up and brushing the leaves and grass from my pants.

* * *

As we continued the trek to Mount Weather, Finn insisted on making conversation. "Why send us down today after ninety seven years?" he asked. "What changed?"

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did." Octavia sighed. "I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest." she giggled spinning around a tree.

"Maybe they found something on a satellite." Monty suggested. "Like an old weather satellite."

"It wasn't a satellite." I cut off, stopping. "The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support. Maybe four now that we're gone."

"So that was the secret they locked you two up to keep?" Finn asked. "Why they kept you in solitary and-"

"Floated our father." I finished, fighting the bitter memory. I nodded, turning my back on the rest, twisting the chain and ring around my finger.

"He was the engineer who discovered the flaw." Clarke went on, as we kept walking. "He thought the people had a right to know. The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic."

"We were gonna go public." I added, regaining my composure. "Then Wells..." I trailed off.

"Whoa, your boyfriend turned in your dad?" Jasper asked, walking up next to me.

I turned to look at him, "Ex-boyfriend." I corrected. "Anyway, the Guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

"I heard a rumor they added another charge to your arrest." Octavia chided, raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes and faced her, "Yeah. Assault." I confirmed.

"You assualted someone?" Finn questioned.

"When the Guard showed up and took my dad, a few held me and Clarke back. I couldn't stand for it and I hit a couple of them." I answered. "Pretty sure I broke a nose or two, maybe a wrist." I shrugged.

"Badass." Jasper noted, lightly slapping my shoulder.

"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty asked, a look of sadness in his eyes.

"Good." Octavia sighed, walking ahead of us. "After what they did to me, I say, float them all."

"You don't mean that." Jasper called after her.

* * *

A clearing came into view and Octavia stood on the rocks, slipping out of her pants, which made all the guys gape.

"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" I asked.

She just turned and smiled, before jumping off the rocks. A spalsh sounded a second later. We ran to the rocks and saw her in the river.

"Octavia." Jasper sighed.

"We can't swim." Monty reminded.

"No, but we can stand." she giggled, standing and running her fingers over her soaked hair.

"Wait, there's not supposed to be a river here." Clarke noted, checking the map.

"Well, there is." Finn pointed out. "So take off your damn clothes."

I shot Finn a glare as Jasper was already taking his jacket off. He looked out into the river and his eyes widened. "Octavia, get out of the water." he yelled.

I saw something moving underneath the surface, before it dragged Octavia under water. Things got eerily silent for a few seconds, before Octavia broke the surface behind us, gasping. We ran towards her, shooting off ideas on how to rescue her.

"If we distract it, it might let her go." Clarke threw out. She and I lifted a large stone and tossed it into the river, which seemed to have grabbed the creature's attention.

"It worked." I sighed in relief.

"Get to the shore Octavia!" Monty called as Jasper jumped int the river to help her.

"It's coming back." Finn warned.

"It's headed right for you, guys." Clarke yelled.

Jasper pulled Octavia to shore, and that's when we all saw the bite mark on her thigh. I knelt down beside her, ripping the lower part of my shirt to create a makeshift bandage for the wound. "You're gonna be okay." I assured, draping my ponytail over my shoulder.

* * *

Once the sun began to set, we set up camp near the river, settling down on a large patch of moss. I stayed awake until the moon rose, taking in the crisp, night air. Sure, I've seen the moon and the stars from my home on The Ark, but it was something new, experiencing it from Earth. For the first time, I didn't have to dream about just being on the ground, now I can start dreaming of things to do now that I'm actually there.

"Well dad, we made it." I sighed, caressing the ring that dangled over my breasts. "It's just me and Clarke at the moment, and 97 other juveniles. But, in a month or so, mom should be down here to join us." I looked over at Clarke, who was sleeping soundly next to me. I smiled and brushed some hair from her face, before looking back at the sky, clutching the ring in my hands. "I miss you every day dad." I sniffled, releasing the ring. "I love you." was the last thing I said before I finally drifted off.

* * *

The next morning, we worked on a plan to get us across the river without being that sea serpent's breakfast. Jasper fastened together a rope and tied it to a high branch, checking to make sure it was sturdy enough for us all to swing across. Finn volunteered to be the first one across.

"You wanted to go first." Clarke reminded. "Now quit stalling.

I tapped my boot on the stones. "Mount Weather awaits." I added. "Today Finn."

"Aye, aye, Princess." he chuckled. "Oh no, wait. Princess Commander."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "Idiot." I muttered.

Before Finn could swing, Jasper halted him, saying he wanted to be the first one across. "I can do it." he assured.

"Knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Finn praised, giving Jasper a pat on the shoulder.

Jasper nodded and gripped the rope, but yet still stood on the stone. I licked my lips and smiled, "It's okay to be afraid, Jasper." I reassured. "The trick is not fighting it."

He saluted the rest of us, grinning ear to ear. "See you on the other side." he stepped back then swung over the river, barely landing on the other side. He jumped up and and hollered like a madman. "Whoo! Yeah! We are apogee!"

The rest of us cheered and jumped up and down in excitement. Monty grabbed the rope, "You're up Rayleigh." he said, holding out the rope to me.

"Go for it, Princess Commander." Octavia giggled.

I rolled my eyes and Clarke pulled me towards the rope, "Go big sis." she encouraged.

I pulled her into a hug, kissing her temple. "Alright, I'm going!" I agreed, taking the rope.

"Come on, Rayleigh!" Jasper cheered from across the river. "You got this!"

"Fools." I chuckled. "I'm surrounded by them." I pulled on the rope and took a step back.

Jasper held up a broken sign, laughing. "We did it!" he yelled. "Mount Weather!"

"Alright!" Clarke and I yelled in unison, her arm wrapped around my waist.

Then, out of nowhere, a spear was launched from the trees and struck Jasper right in the chest, and he slammed against the tree behind him.

"Jasper?" Clarke breathed.

"Everyone, get down." Finn ordered, and we all ducked down behind the stones, frantically looking for whoever, or whatever, launched that spear.

Now we knew the answer to the question we all asked ourselves since we landed here on Earth. "We're not alone."


	3. Earth Skills

**Earth Skills**

 **Disclaimer: I only own the character of Rayleigh Griffin. I don't own any other cannon character from _The 100_. **

* * *

We ran as fast as we could, after witnessing what just happened to Jasper.

"Come on." Finn called back, leading the retreat.

A few steps ahead of me, Monty tripped over a root and grunted as he hit the ground. I knelt down next to him, helping him up. "Come on, Monty, we need to keep running." I reminded.

Monty's eyes widened as he jumped back. When I found what he saw, I gasped. A skeleton was right in front of us, the bones appeared to have been charred. The skull appeared to be disfigured to some degree.

"Who are they?" Octavia asked, gaping.

"What are they?" Finn added.

A distant scream sounded behind us, making us turn back. "Jasper." Clarke gasped. "He's alive." she took off back the way we came.

"Clarke, wait!" I called, running after her.

"Wait." Finn yelled behind us, catching up easily and yanking us down once we reached the river. "Stay out of the trees."

I looked around and couldn't find Jasper's body anywhere. "He was right there." I remembered.

"So, where is he now?" Monty asked, kneeling next to me.

"They took him." Clarke sighed.

"And who is 'they'?" Finn questioned.

"Let's not wait around to find out." Octavia answered, wincing as she reached for her leg wound.

We ran back to the drop ship, as fast as we could. Finn and Monty helped support Octavia along the way.

* * *

Sounds of cheering became louder and louder as we neared the site where the ship landed. Once I broke through the trees, I saw Wells holding a knife to that Murphy kid's throat.

"Wells!" I shouted. "Let him go!"

He did so, moving to stand close to Clarke and I. Murphy, however, went in for another strike, but Bellamy stepped in. "Enough, Murphy." he ordered, before turning his attention to his injured sister, who was still being supported by Monty and Finn.

"Where's the food?" Wells asked.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Clarke admitted.

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded.

I glared in his direction, "We were attacked genius." I answered.

"By what?" one of the juvie girls asked.

"Not what. Who." Finn corrected. "It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."

"It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong." I informed. "There are people here, survivors."

"The good news is, that means we can survive." Clarke continued. "Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will." Finn added.

Wells looked around, probably finally realizing we returned with one less person than when we left yesterday. He looked directly at me. "Where's the kid with the goggles?" he asked.

I sighed, "Jasper was hit." I answered. "They took him."

Clarke ran her hand through her hair. "Where's your wristband?" she asked, and that's when I noticed that Wells' wristband was in fact missing.

Wells narrowed his eyes in Bellamy's direction. "Ask him."

I marched up to Bellamy, my eyes set in a glare. "How many?"

"Twenty-four and counting." Murphy answered.

I shook my head. "Idiots." I muttered, turning to face the rest of the delinquents, who surrounded us. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here." I informed, and that seemed to grab their attention. "They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us."

"We're stronger than you think, Princess." Bellamy chided, standing tall beside me. "Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same?" everyone seemed to be hanging on his every word, and I clenched my hand into a fist in annoyance. "We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"

"Yeah!" everyone else shouted in agreement.

I scoffed and walked away, with Clarke following close behind. "What do we do now, Ray?" she asked.

I looked over at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Now we go after Jasper." I answered. "Get a small pack together, I wanna get outta here before Bellamy really gets me pissed."

* * *

I shoved a few pairs of seat belts into the backpack, as well as other materials I could use for medical purposes. Clarke tapped my shoulder, a backpack slung over her shoulder, "I'll wait for you outside."

I nodded. "Sure."

She smiled and kissed the top of my head. As I heard her leave, I also heard someone else approach me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that it was Wells. "There you are." he greeted, casually, before looking around the ship. "When my father said they didn't leave us anything, he really meant it."

I sighed and stood up, slipping my arms through the straps of the backpack. Wells stood right in front of me, and that's when I noticed a cut on his upper arm. I looked at it, then up at him.

"It's just a scratch." he assured.

"You're making friends fast." I noted. "Keep it covered. It could get infected." I also noted a backpack over his shoulder. "Nice pack."

"Yeah, seat belts and insulation. I also packed part of the parachute, figured we could use it to carry out Jasper." he replied.

I nodded, "Good. Give it to someone else." I instructed. "You're not coming with us." I shoved past him.

"My ankle's fine, Ray." Wells assured.

I sighed, turning to look over my shoulder at him. "It's not your ankle, Wells, it's you." I admitted. Sure it was harsh, but I really wasn't in the mood to be semi-alone with my ex-boyfriend. Not when Jasper could be dying.

"You came back for reinforcements." Wells reminded, following me out of the ship. "I'm gonna help."

"Ray, he has a point." Monty cut in. "We need him. So far no one else has volunteered."

"I'm sorry, Monty, but you're not going, either." I apologized, facing him.

"Like hell I'm not." Monty rebuked. "Jasper's my best friend."

I sighed, "You're too important." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You were raised on Farm Station and recruited by engineering." The look on Monty's face was one of confusion, so I elaborated my reasoning. "Food and communication. What's up here," I tapped his temple, "it's gonna save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and I'll bring Jasper back."

I turned to Clarke and Finn, "You ready?"

"Yeah." Clarke answered.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither should any of you." Finn rebuked. "That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from 300 feet."

Clarke rolled her eyes. "So what, we let Jasper die?" she questioned. "That's not gonna happen."

"Spacewalker? What a joke." I scoffed. "You think you're such an adventurer. You're really just a coward."

"It's not an adventure, Princess Commander." Finn corrected. "It's a suicide mission."

"Fine, if you wanna stay, then stay." I sighed, walking past him.

* * *

On my way out of camp, I saw Bellamy tending to Octavia's thigh wound, catching the end of their conversation.

"You could have been killed." he reprimanded.

"She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out." I informed.

"You guys leaving?" Octavia questioned. "I'm coming, too."

"No way." Bellamy objected. "Not again."

"He's right." Clarke added. "Your leg's just gonna slow us down."

I stepped up to Bellamy, "I'm here for you, actually." and that grabbed his attention.

"Rayleigh, what the hell?" Wells questioned.

"I hear you have a gun." I said to Bellamy, ignoring Wells. Bellamy nodded and lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing the weapon in question. "Good, follow me."

Bellamy grabbed my arm as I walked past him, "And why would I do that?" he asked.

I cracked a smirk and met his eyes, knowing just what to say to get him to come along. "Because you want them to follow you." I subtly motioned to the rest of the camp. "And right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared."

I walked ahead with Wells and Clark, and faintly heard Bellamy barking orders at Murphy and Atom. The latter stayed behind while the former accompanied the rest of us on the rescue mission. Clarke kept pace beside me, "Rayleigh, are you sure about this?" she asked.

"Those guys aren't just bullies." Wells added. "They're dangerous criminals."

I kept looking ahead, "That's what I'm counting on." I answered them. I quickly glance behind us and saw Murphy and Bellamy following a few paces behind.

* * *

After roughly 15 minutes of hiking, Bellamy decided to catch up with the rest of us. "What's the rush?" he questioned, holding his gun out in the open. "You don't survive a spear through the heart."

"Put the gun away, Bellamy." Wells ordered, stepping in between him and me and my sister.

"Well, why don't you do something about it, Prince." Murphy scoffed.

"Jasper screamed when they moved him." Clarke informed.

"If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly." I added. "It doesn't mean we have time to waste."

Clarke and I turned to leave, but Murphy grabbed her arm, making me spin around, only to have Bellamy grab me.

"As soon as the two of you take your wristbands off, we can go." Bellamy offered.

I elbowed Bellamy's nose and decked Murphy in the jaw, yanking Clarke back and kept my arm around her, standing firm. "Listen here you dicks, because I'm only gonna say this once; the only way the Ark is gonna think we're dead," I motioned to Clarke and I, "is if we're dead." I stated. "Got it?"

"Looks like the two Princesses have some fight in 'em after all." Murphy laughed.

The branches rustled nearby and Finn joined us. "Find your own nickname." he ordered. "You call this a rescue party?" he chuckled. "You've gotta split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me." he pulled my sister along the trail.

I rolled my eyes and followed, keeping the real objective in mind: save Jasper.

* * *

As I continued the trail, I kept my eyes on Finn and Clarke, being the protective big sister I was.

"What, he makes a move on her and you're gonna break his arm or something?" Bellamy chuckled, walking up next to me.

"What do you want?" I asked, glancing at him. "Besides my wristband so The Ark thinks I'm dead?"

"Just trying to make conversation." Bellamy admitted.

"Yeah right." I scoffed.

"I figured, pair off in groups of two, and since you'd probably kill Murphy, and you wont's talk to the Prince, so guess you're stuck with me." Bellamy cracked a smile.

"Yeah well, don't get any ideas Blake." I told him, looking over to meet his eyes. "I'm not the damsel in distress type of girl." I jumped over a moss covered log. "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself and my sister, without anyone's help."

Bellamy shook his head. "Whatever happened to that girl who assisted in the med bay and always had the best bedside manner?" he asked. "I at least found her good company."

"That girl still had her father to go home to when the day was done." I answered, leaving him behind me as I approached the river.

The rope we fashioned the day before was still tied to the branch. As far as I could tell, there was nothing in sight; no Jasper, and certainly no sign of Grounder activity in the area.

"Is this where it happened?" Bellamy asked, joining me.

I nodded. "Yeah." I answered softly. "Once he hit the other side, the spear struck him out of nowhere. It was an awful sight." I sighed. I shook my head, snapping myself back to the present. "We have to find him, before he bleeds to death."

I heard Bellamy snicker behind be before catching up, "You know Princess, I think I know why you're so hellbent on this mission; saving Jasper. And why you're so overprotective of Clarke."

I stopped and turned to face him, barely two inches separating us. "You know nothing about-"

"You couldn't save you father before Jaha floated him." he cut me off, his expression serious.

I averted my gaze, licking my lips and biting back the tears. "You have no right to talk about my father. And you know nothing about me."

"Rayleigh!" Clarke called, from not far behind me. I turned and saw her a few feet away. "Finn and I found something!"

"Coming!" I yelled back, running to meet her. The other three boys joined us shortly on the opposite shoreline.

* * *

"How do we know this is the right way?" Murphy asked, twenty minutes into the hike.

"We don't." Bellamy answered. "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

"It's called fourth-year Earth Skills." Wells clarified. "He's good."

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn asked, checking the surroundings.

"Finn, look." I muttered, kneeling next to a small stone. I ran my finger over it and felt a slightly warm, wet substance. A small smear of red was on the underside of my finger. "Blood."

"Jasper." Clarke noted.

"Most likely." I agreed.

There was a faint moan in the distance, making us all turn in that direction. "What the hell was that?" Murphy asked.

I glanced at Bellamy, "Now would be a good time to take out that gun." I advised, rushing in the direction the moaning was coming from.

* * *

The source was none other than Jasper, who was strung up in a tree, moaning in pain.

"Jasper." Clarke sighed, eyes widened in shock. "Oh, my God."

I carefully walked ahead, getting a closer look at Jasper. He had a few small lacerations on his chest, and something was covering the puncture wound made by the spear. "What the hell is this?" I asked myself.

My next step was a mistake. The ground gave way and I was dangling over a speared pitfall trap. One of the spears sliced my knee and I felt blood run down my leg. The only thing keeping me from certain death was Bellamy gripping my arm. I looked up and saw something flicker in his eyes.

"Don't you all just stand there like brainless Monkeys, pull me up!" I shouted, gripping Bellamy's arm with my other hand.

They all pitched in and pulled from the trap. My arms latched around Bellamy's neck as he swung me onto safer, solid ground.

"You okay Ray?" Clarke asked, rubbing my back.

I nodded, wincing when I moved my left leg. "Yeah Clarke." I answered, fighting the pain. I removed my arm from Bellamy's neck, keeping my knee bent and my left foot off the ground.

"What, no thanks for saving your life?" Bellamy scoffed.

I rolled my eyes and looked over at him, my arm looped around Clarke's shoulder. "Yes, Bellamy, thank you from saving me from being impaled to death." I replied, sarcastically and snippy. "Even though you thought about dropping me."

"We still need to get Jasper down." Clarke reminded.

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." Finn volunteered.

"Yeah, I'm with you." Wells added.

Finn shook his head. "No." he rebuked. "Help Rayleigh, she's bleeding." he motioned to my leg. "And watch him." he shot a glare at Bellamy. Then he motioned to Murphy. "You. Let's go."

I leaned into Clark, keeping my left leg bent. The gash must have been deeper than I thought because I could still feel blood running down my leg.

"Wells, steady her." Clarke told my ex. "I need to cover the wound."

Wells looped my arm around his shoulders as Clarke pulled up my torn pant leg, A decent sized gash stretched over my knee. She unzipped her pack and I rolled my eyes. "Here sis, allow me." I took the small knife from Wells' pocket and cut off the right sleeve of my shirt, handing it to Clarke. "Use that."

She nodded and tore the sleeve in half, using both strips to make a double layered bandage to cover my wound.

"There's a poultice on his wound." I noted, looking up at Jasper, fixating on the patch over the spear wound.

"Medicine?" Wells questioned. I nodded.

Clarke stood up and I draped my other arm over her shoulders. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing." Bellamy threw out.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn added.

"That's a scary thought." I mumbled, tossing my ponytail back.

* * *

Murphy and Finn climbed up the tree and was slowly cutting Jasper loose. "Hurry up, Murphy." Finn urged.

I heard a growling in the distance, and I wasn't the only one.

"What the hell was that?" Wells asked, his arm tightening around my waist.

"Grounders?" Finn questioned.

Following the growl was an animalistic snarl. "I'm guessing not." I rebuked. A panther appeared in the distance, stalking towards us. "Bellamy, better get out that gun." I suggested.

When he reached for it however, it started going off. My head snapped in the direction and Wells was holding the gun, firing it at the animal attacking us. It stalked around us, and we never moved an inch. Suddenly it lunged towards Bellamy, and Wells fired the remaining bullets, killing the carnivorous wild feline.

I sighed in relief and glanced between the dead animal and the one who shot it.

"Now she sees you." Bellamy sighed.

Finn and Murphy helped Jasper down from the tree. Clarke took over for Murphy and her and Finn began the trek back to camp.

I went to follow, but the pain in my leg was still harsh and I braced myself against a tree, wincing.

"Rayleigh, let me help." Wells offered.

I looked up into his eyes and sighed, caving. "Fine." I agreed.

He scooped me up and followed Finn and Clarke. I looked over his shoulder, "Guys, don't forget the cat!" I called back to Murphy and Bellamy. "That's our dinner."

* * *

The sun was set when we arrived back at camp. A large bonfire was in the center and everyone was still acting chaotic.

"Wells, get me to the ship." I asked. "I have to check on Jasper."

"You're so stubborn Ray." he chuckled.

"You've known me for years and just now figured this out." I raised an eyebrow.

Clarke and I cleaned the blood from Jasper's body, as he breathed slowly.

"Can you get me some bandages, sweetie?" I asked.

"Sure sis." Clarke answered, going to the opposite end of the drop ship.

I looked down at Jasper, "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay." I whispered, cleaning his wounds. "I won't let you die Jasper."

* * *

After I did what I could, I exited the ship and saw a line of kids by the fire. In exchange for food, they took off the metal wristbands. I shook my head and sat a few feet away from the drop ship, shrugging off my jacket.

"Hungry?" Wells asked, holding out a stick with a slab of cooked meat. I smiled and took it, as he sat beside me. "How's Jasper?"

I took a bite of meat and swallowed before I answered. "He's stable for now, but without medicine, he won't last very long." I admitted. "Two days, maybe three. I'm not sure."

Wells patted my thigh. "You'll figure out something." he assured, tucking loose hair behind my ear. "You always do."

I took another bite of meat, glancing at my knee wound. The bleeding had stopped for the time being, but it still stung. I could feel Wells watching me, so I turned to look at him. "What?" I asked.

He leaned in close and kissed me, which I instantly pulled away from. "No." I told him. "You can't do that."

"Ray." he whispered, taking my hand. "I still love you. I never stopped."

"Wells, what you did." I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. "It's not easily forgiven." I stood up, grabbing my jacket. "If you thought following me down here and carrying me back here is gonna make me love you again, you're mistaken."

* * *

I walked back to the ship, standing just outside the parachute curtain. I wiped the moisture from my eyes with the remaining sleeve of my shirt.

"Trouble in paradise, Princess?" Bellamy asked, standing behind me.

I turned to glare at him. "Screw you." I spat, storming into the ship.

I finished my dinner and set up a small bed near Jasper so I could monitor him every couple hours. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling shortly after. I used my jacket as a blanket and drowned out the noise from outside.


	4. Earth Kills

**Earth Kills**

 **A/N: This chapter has been re-written with the major changes being to Rayleigh's memories from the Ark. My reasons will be made clear when the sequel to this story is posted. Enjoy the updated version!**

* * *

 **[Memory-One Year Ago: The Ark]**

There really wasn't much to do on the Ark, so we made do with what we had. One thing me and my family liked to do was watch old sports matches via archived footage from years before the war. My father, Jake Griffin, was very good friends with Chancellor Jaha, and that proved useful when we wanted access to various archived moments from earlier years before the Nuclear War.

Me, Clarke, and dad, along with Chancellor Jaha and Wells were watching an old soccer match from the year 2001. It was just a normal day, a day off to just have fun and hang out with good friends.

"Yeah!" dad cheered, jumping from the couch as the team we were rooting for scored a goal. "Right here, girls!" Clarke and I each slapped his hand in a high five.

"Prepare for crushing defeat." Clarke giggled, lightly punching Wells in the shoulder.

"It's not over yet." Wells reminded.

I laughed, taking a sip of my drink. "Actually, it was over a hundred and forty seven years ago." I reminded.

"A technicality." Jaha noted.

"Give it up." dad chuckled. "You're going down."

"Down to the ground." Clarke and I added, bursting into laughter.

The door to our living quarters opened, and I glanced over my shoulder, catching mom toss her work stuff to the side. "Hey mom." I greeted.

"What'd I miss?" she asked, looking at the rest of us.

Jaha pointed to me, Clarke, and dad. "Your husband and daughters being obnoxious."

"Jake, you better play nice." mom chided, cracking a smile.

"We are playing nice." I defended. "They should know by now how competitive we are." I nudged Wells in the arm, smiling.

Mom nudged my shoulder and patted Clarke's head as she walked up to dad, rubbing his shoulders. "So, I ran into Bennett when I was leaving the clinic and he has that systems analysis that you asked for." she told him. I was sitting right next to my dad so I heard everything.

Dad sighed and stood up, heading for the door. "Wait, dad, you're going now?" I asked, looking right at him.

"Just for a few minutes, Ray." he replied, kissing the top of my head.

"Everything okay?" Jaha questioned.

"Oh, yeah." dad answered. "You know this old boat. It's always something."

I watched as he left, before turning my attention back to the game.

* * *

 **[Present Day: Earth]**

I stirred from my sleep and saw Clarke checking Jasper's pulse.

"How is it?" I asked, groggily.

"Thready." she answered, dropping his wrist.

We were on the middle level of the drop ship, and the other kids, both above and below us were yelling, basically telling Jasper to shut up and die.

Clarke sighed. "I'm gonna get clean water." she stood up. "Keep an eye on him?"

I nodded, "Yeah, sure." I walked over and leaned against the wall next to where Jasper was laying. "Oh and Clarke." I said, and my sister halted her steps, still standing on the ladder. "Find whoever is complaining about Jasper, and tell them to float themselves."

Clarke cracked a smile. "Will do sis." she agreed, descending the ladder.

I returned the smile and placed a wet cloth on Jasper's forehead. "Don't listen to them." I whispered. "You're gonna make it through this, okay?" I brushed the back of my fingers down his cheek. "I promise."

"Can you save him?" Monty asked.

I looked over and met his eyes, nodding my head. "Don't worry Monty, he's gonna be okay." I reassured. "No one dies on my watch."

Monty nodded slightly and went back to sleep. I sighed and leaned against the wall, watching over Jasper. "Don't make a liar out of me." I muttered.

* * *

The next morning, I checked over Jasper's wounds once more.

"I'm gonna grab some more cloth for new bandages." I offered, climbing down the ladder the to the lower level of the drop ship.

Jasper continued to moan in pain. With the few options I had, I decided to use my own, already torn, shirt, to make new bandages. I stripped off my shirt, leaving me in a white tank top and forest green cargo pants.

Someone whistled behind me and I rolled my eyes. The man in question, Bellamy Blake. He stood at the drop ship entrance, looking me over nice and slow.

"Can I help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just how long are you willing to wait before you put that kid out of his misery?" Bellamy questioned. Jasper moaned again.

"I'm not giving up on Jasper." I replied, noticing the ax he held. I took it from him, "Thanks, I was just looking for something to cut this with." I used the sharpened end of the ax blade to slice the other sleeve off my t-shirt.

"He's a lost cause, Princess." Bellamy sighed.

"Not to me." I rebuked, shoving the axe back to him. "Why don't you do something useful and go hunting with some of your followers. Preferably something high in iron and protein. Jasper's gonna need it, when he pulls through." I emphasized the last part. "Now if you excuse me, I have a patient to save."

Bellamy licked his lips. "You're not a real doctor." he noted.

I looked back at him. "No, but I'm the closest thing you've got to one." I climbed up the ladder and slammed the latch door shut, exhaling.

"What's up?" Monty asked.

"Who pissed you off this time?" Clarke questioned.

"Bellamy Blake." I answered, handing her the cloth of my shirt.

"Okay then." Monty sighed.

"Ray, take a look at this." Clarke motioned to the spear wound on Jasper's chest. "The Grounders cauterized the wound."

"So he wouldn't bleed to death." I noted, observing the wound closely. "They saved his life."

"Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait." Finn added. "Garden of Eden this ain't."

"That's no joke." Clarke agreed.

I checked on another laceration, "This is infected, he could be septic." I sighed, looking back at Monty. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?" I asked. "Monty!"

Monty dropped the wristband he was working on. "That would be a firm no, Princess Commander."

I sighed, ignoring the nickname. "Mom would know what to do." Clarke muttered.

I ran my hands through my hair. "I know what to do, it's just we don't have the right equipment to do so." I grunted.

Someone came down from the top level, glancing over my shoulder I saw it was Wells. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" I snapped.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." he defended.

Jasper moaned again. I felt so sorry for him, the pain he was experiencing must be excruciating. I brushed my finger down the side of the deep laceration, and Jasper moaned louder.

I sighed, "Okay, you wanna help?" I questioned. Wells nodded. "Hold him down." I ordered.

Wells and Clark did so as I held my hand-made knife over a small fire. Once the blade was glowing I took it out and held it over Jasper.

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Monty gulped.

"Probably not." Finn guessed.

I caressed Jasper's forehead. "I'm sorry Jasper." I apologized. "This is gonna hurt, but it'll help in the long run." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Here it goes."

Jasper writhed in pain and screamed. "Hold him still!" Clarke yelled. "Rayleigh needs to cut away the infected flesh."

Which was proving much more difficult since Jasper was writhing. I continued to move the blade down the length of the wound, trying not to make it too deep and risk hitting an organ or two.

"Stop it!" Octavia called, standing beside me. "You're killing him."

"She's trying to save his life." Finn corrected.

"She can't." Bellamy rebuked, joining us. "I told her that earlier."

"And I told you to gather your followers and go hunting." I shot back. "Make yourself useful."

Wells moved from Jasper's side and was now behind me, standing up to Bellamy. "Back off." he demanded.

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die." Clarke stated.

"Kid's a goner. If your sister can't see that, she's deluded." Bellamy sighed. "He's making people crazy."

I exhaled sharply, "Sorry if Jasper's an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Ark." I reminded. "Down here, every life matters."

"Take a look at him." Bellamy told me. "He's a lost cause." he reached for my arm and I flung it back, hitting his jaw.

"Back off Bellamy." I snapped.

Clarke reached over and patted Octavia's shoulder. "Don't worry, we've spent our whole lives watching our mother heal people." she assured.

I looked over at her. "I've worked alongside my mom since I was fourteen." I added. "If I say there's hope, there's hope."

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts." Bellamy rebuked. "You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do." I lowered my head, resisting the urge to shove my knife in him to shut him up. "He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself."

"Like hell you will." I spat, turning around to slug him.

Wells grabbed my arm and I pulled away, watching Bellamy as he turned to leave. "Octavia, let's go." he ordered.

She grabbed the damp cloth, shaking her head. "I'm staying here." she stated.

Bellamy climbed down the ladder, shutting the latch after him. I shook my head and glared at Wells, "Quit stepping up for me." I told him. "We're not together anymore. I can take care of myself." I went back to tending to Jasper.

"Power-hungry, self-serving jackass." Monty rattled, glaring at where Bellamy was standing. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself." he turned to Octavia. "No offense."

"None taken." Octavia replied, placing a new cloth on Jasper's forehead.

Finn sighed. "Yeah. Bellamy is all that." he agreed, looking at Clarke and I. "But he also happens to be right."

Clarke stormed out, climbing down the ladder. I could see the look of disappointment on her face.

"Like hell he's right." I muttered, grabbing another cloth and soaking it in water.

Finn left and Wells walked over to me. "You're so stubborn." he told me. "Always wanting to prove people wrong when they don't agree with you."

I wrung out the cloth. "Yeah, well, it's one of the qualities I got from my father." I reminded, not looking him in the eyes. "I take pride in that matter." I shoved past him and placed the soaked cloth over the infected wound.

"I wanna help." Octavia volunteered.

I looked her in the eyes and nodded, handing her the cloth. "Dab this around the wound." I offered.

"Okay." she took it from me and did as instructed.

I walked up to Jasper's head, brushing his hair to the side. "He's wrong Jasper." I whispered. "You're gonna pull through this. You're not gonna die, I promise."

* * *

 **[Memory]**

I came home from my internship shift in Med-Bay and went straight to the room I shared with Clarke.

"Another good day?" she asked, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

I nodded, taking off my purple-scrub top. "Yeah. Saw that sassy six year old today." I chuckled. "She always makes me laugh." I plopped down on my bed which was opposite Clarke's and kicked off my sneakers. "Is dad still not back yet?"

Clarke shook her head. "No, he's still in a meeting with Jaha I think." she answered. "You're home late though, run into that Cadet friend of yours?"

I sighed, "No." I answered, biting my lip. "We haven't really talked since the Lunar Eclipse. Pretty sure I'm not gonna see him again, ever."

"Maybe it's for the best." Clarke sighed. "You really don't need another guy in your life. You have Wells, and dad."

I chuckled. "I'm allowed to have more friends than just you, sis." I reminded. I heard the door open and figured dad must be home. "C'mon." I voted. "Let's catch dad before we get to bed."

Clarke nodded and we made our way to the main living room. I heard our parents talking, and halted when I heard something unsettling. I held Clarke back as we pressed our backs against the wall.

"The Ark's got a year of oxygen left, maybe two." dad admitted.

"You'll fix it." mom assured. "You always do."

"Not this time." dad sighed. Clarke and I glanced at each other, mirroring worried looks. "This isn't a glitch. It's a system failure." he added. "We can't avoid the truth. We have to let everyone on the Ark put their minds to a solution."

"What, and risk anarchy?" mom questioned. "No. It's too dangerous." she objected. "Promise me that you'll obey the council's orders, that you'll keep it quiet."

I peeked around the wall and saw dad shake his head. "I can't."

"For Rayleigh and Clarke." mom begged. "Do it for our girls."

"I am doing this for them." dad replied.

There was a minute of silence before mom sighed heavily. "They'll float you, Jake." she informed. "If you do this, I won't be able to stop it."

Clarke reached for my hand and squeezed it. I squeezed her hand back, reassuring her that I was there. We made our way back to our bedroom, leaving mom and dad alone.

* * *

 **[Present Day]**

I came down the ladder to the lower level and saw Clarke getting a pack together.

"Where do you think you're going?" I accused, cracking a smile.

She looked over at me and tossed me a knapsack. "Wells figured out the stuff that was on Jasper's spear wound." she informed. "We're going to get more. Wanna come?"

I nodded. "Sure, I could use the fresh air." I agreed. "What are we looking for?"

"Seaweed apparently." Clarke chuckled.

"Even better, we can fill up our water supply, for medical use." I slung the knapsack over my shoulder. "Let's go."

"You sure?" Clarke questioned. "Wells is coming too."

"We need to save Jasper." I reminded. "As long as we can find the stuff to help him, I don't care who comes along." I walked past her and saw Wells and Finn standing by the trail leading to the river.

* * *

As we hiked, Wells kept pace with Clarke and I. "You know, you two should, really rethink this whole hating me thing." he advised. "It's not just the Grounders. We're surrounded by criminals. We need each other. We're gonna be friends again."

"You got our dad killed." Clarke reminded. "Not possible."

"Second." I agreed.

"This is Earth." Wells pointed out. "Anything's possible."

I looked over at him. "Not what you're asking." Clarke and I turned and walked ahead.

There was a loud bag from behind us and we stopped, turning around. Finn stomped on the ground and the same sound repeated. He knelt down and brushed aside the leaves and dirt.

"Finn, what are you doing?" I asked, walking up to him.

What I saw looked like something half-buried. "What is it?" Clarke questioned.

"It's an automobile." Finn chuckled, cracking a smile.

I sighed in annoyance. "Come on, guys. This thing's been here a hundred years." I reminded. "It can wait. Jasper can't."

Clarke and I continued towards the river and stopped once we hit it. Finn and Wells joined us shortly after.

"So, what does this seaweed look like?" I asked, looking around.

"Like that." Wells answered, pointing to patches of red just below the water's surface. "Hey, that thing that bit Octavia, how big was it?"

"Big." Finn answered, kneeling down. He un-clipped his pack and held it open. "We could rig this into some kind of a net and find something to lower it into the water."

Clarke and I looked at each other and shook our heads. We walked right past him and into the water, yanking bunches of the seaweed from it. "Or we could just buck up and grab them ourselves." I suggested, shoving the plant into my pack. I also filled up the large canteen I took from the drop ship.

A large flock of birds squawked in the distance and came flying right us. We ducked to avoid any serious injury.

"What the hell?" I muttered, watching the birds fly off.

"Let's get out of here." Wells suggested.

A horn bellowed in the distance, not far from where we were. "Grounders?" Clarke questioned.

"It could be a war cry." Finn guessed. "Or a warning maybe."

A large cloud of yellow fog sprang up from the distance, giving the wind a burning sensation. "What is that?" Clarke asked.

"Nothing good." I answered. "Run!"

We took off into the forest, trying to escape the fog heading right for us. Finn yanked the automobile door open and we jumped inside, but the fog began seeping through.

"Seal any openings." I yelled, coughing. I covered my nose and mouth until everything was sealed. I leaned against the side and caught my breath.

* * *

 **[Memory]**

Another early morning to later afternoon shift from the clinic down and I was itching to get home and maybe take a quick nap before dinner. When I sat down on my bed, I felt someone next to me. I turned on the lights and saw Clarke sitting at the front of my bed, a blank look on her face.

"Clarke?" I questioned, waving my hand in front of her face. "What's up?" she turned to face me. "Is what we overheard mom and dad talking about last night still bothering you?"

She nodded. "I told Wells." she informed.

I gaped. "I thought we agreed to keep this between us." I reminded.

She shrugged. "He could tell something was wrong, so I told him." she defended. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."

I placed my hands on her cheeks. "That's because you, dear little sister, have a terrible poker face." I told her, kissing her forehead. "It's fine. Wells is trustworthy, he'll keep the secret."

Clarke nodded. "He is our best friend." she noted. "And he's totally in love with you."

"True." I agreed. "Now, I've been up for quite a few hours, so I'm gonna take a quick nap before dinner."

"Okay." Clarke hugged me and left the room.

* * *

 **[Present Day]**

Finn cleaned off the window to check of the fog had dissipated. "It's still out there." he sighed.

"Look, we should just make a run for it." Clarke voted. "Jasper can't wait much longer."

"Us dying in a cloud of acid fog isn't gonna help Jasper." Finn reminded. He worked on opening the glove compartment. Once it opened, he pulled out a bottle of something. "Booze." he announced, opening the bottle and taking a swig.

"Careful." I warned. "It could be-"

"Whiskey, I think." he cut off. "Better than the moonshine on Agro Station." He offered the drink to Wells.

"Alcohol's toxic." he reminded.

"This is Earth." Finn noted. "Everything's toxic. Plus, it's a time-honored rite of passage."

"We'll pass." Wells declined, glancing at Clarke and I.

I scoffed, "Speak for yourself." I took the bottle from Finn and gulped down a swig. It went down semi-smooth and I didn't really mind the taste. I offered the bottle to my sister.

"Far be it for me to stand in the way of tradition." Clarke sighed, taking the next drink, coughing.

Hours passed, and still the fog remained. Clarke took another swig of the whiskey. "It's been hours." she noted, sighing. "Jasper could be-

"Jasper's in good hands." Finn assured. "Octavia will take care of him."

"While we're on the subject," I threw out, shifting positions so my head rested on Clarke's lap. She twisted my hair around her finger. "why is it that everyone thinks me wanting Jasper to not die is a bad thing?" I asked aloud, taking the bottle Clarke offered me and gulped down another shot. "Like I'm such a downer." I sighed. "I can be fun. You think I'm fun. Right?" I looked up Clarke, then across me at Finn.

"The most fun person I know." Clarke agreed, smiling. She pecked my forehead before continuing playing with my hair.

"Among other things." Finn muttered, chuckling.

"You're fun." Wells stated, bluntly. "You remember that time-"

I looked over at him, "Remember that time you betrayed my sister's trust and got our father executed?" I finished, cracking a smile. "Yeah, I remember." I looked up at Clarke, "Where were we again?"

"Fun." She answered, laughing. Finn nodded in agreement.

I focused back on Wells, "Well, since you brought it up, and I didn't, because I don't want to talk about it." I sighed, sitting up and running my fingers through my hair. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I made a mistake." Wells defended.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I made a mistake." Clarke repeated, her voice cracking. "Not good enough."

I took another swig. "You know, I bet you couldn't wait to run to daddy." I said. "Tell him everything so that he'd finally believe you were the perfect son he always wanted."

"What do you want me to say?" Wells asked, in a louder tone than he usually speaks.

"I want an explanation." I answered, my eyes pleading.

Wells sighed and shook his head. "I can't give you one." he informed. "I thought I could trust him." he muttered.

Clarke sniffled. "Well, not only did I think I could trust my best friend, but I thought I could the man who loved my big sister." she replied, shaking her head. "Guess we were both wrong."

"I'm still your friend, Clarke." Wells admitted. Then he looked to me. "And Rayleigh, I still love you."

I scoffed. "That's rich." I rolled my eyes. "My sister and I got arrested because of what you did. We didn't even get to say goodbye, Wells. The last memory we have of our father is the Guard taking him away." I turned my head and looked him straight in the eyes. "If you really still love me, you can go walk out into that fog and never come back." I turned and looked away, twisting the chain and ring around my neck between my fingers.

"I second that idea." Clarke agreed. "Float yourself Wells."

She reached for the whiskey, but Finn grabbed it first. "Okay, how about we just take it easy." he suggested, trying to smooth things over.

Wells took the whiskey and gulped down a swig. Finn looked from him, to Clarke, then to me. "So, we having fun yet?" Dead silence.

* * *

 **[Memory]**

Clarke and I watched dad as he recorded a video message while sitting at his desk at home. "In this time of uncertainty, we will come together as a people." he addressed. "I'm telling you this because you must know the truth and because I want a future for my children and yours. Be strong."

"You're gonna disobey the council?" I asked, walking into the living room. Clarke followed and stood beside me. We were both in pale colored long-sleeved shirts and dark windpants.

Dad moved to hide the video recorder. "Dad, we know." Clarke informed.

"We heard you and mom the other day." I added.

Dad sighed. "Okay, you two know." he repeated. "I've been thinking about this a long time. The people have a right to know. Your mother doesn't understand."

"What's the plan?" Clarke asked.

"You don't need to know the plan." dad answered. "Neither of you do."

"You're making a video." Clarke noted.

"So what? You're gonna break into the communications mainframe?" I questioned. Dad hesitated to answer, which I figured probably meant yes. "That makes you either suicidal-

"or incredibly dumb." Clarke added.

"Exactly." I agreed.

"Wow." dad chuckled, cracking a smile. "You girls are picking a fine moment to start behaving like typical teenagers."

I walked up to his desk, leaning against it. "I'm gonna help you."

"Me too." Clarke seconded. "Tell us what to do."

"You girls are not helping." dad rebuked. He got up and stood in front of the two of us.

"But we can-" Clarke started to say.

"Absolutely not." dad objected. "No, girls." he wrapped us in his arms, kissing Clarke's cheek and then my temple. He pulled away and looked down at us. "You two get that stubborn streak from your mother, you know." he chuckled. "One of many things I love about the three of you."

The door suddenly opened and a group of guards came in. "Jake Griffin, you're under arrest for treason." the Commander said.

"Dad?" Clarke and I muttered, watching as the guards arrested dad right in front of us. "No!" we screamed, but were restrained by two of the guards.

"Get your hands off them." dad begged them.

"Let go." I struggled against the guard holding me, which only made him restrain me tighter. "I said, let me go."

I yanked my arm free and elbowed the guard holding me in the nose. I decked the second one in the jaw, freeing Clarke and grabbing her wrist. We ran to dad, hugging him as tightly as we could. "I'll warn them." I whispered in his ear. "We'll warn them. We'll find a way."

"No, Rayleigh, no." dad rebuked. "Listen to me, don't do that."

The two guards pulled us away as the rest led dad out of our home. Clarke and I struggled against them, yelling for dad. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears ran down my cheeks.

* * *

 **[Present Day]**

Clarke opened the automobile door and looked around. "The fog's cleared." she announced, jumping out. "Come on."

She helped pull me up and I adjusted my backpack. "Let's go." I ordered, once Finn and Wells were out. "Jasper's waiting."

We walked the trail back to camp, with Clarke and I good few paces in front of the boys.

"I hope Jasper survived the night." I sighed, stepping over a long.

Clarke nodded. "Once we get to camp, we can boil the seaweed into a tea and that should help." she assured, looping her arm through mine.

"That's a brilliant idea." I praised, nudging her arm. "Mom would be proud."

Clarke and I chuckled as we walked in step down the trail. Finn came running up to us five minutes later.

"Trapped in a hundred-year-old car by toxic fog." he stated, walking beside Clarke. "Last night was pretty…what's the word? Fun."

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't fun. It was irresponsible." I corrected. "We should've left the second the fog cleared."

"Even if the fog cleared, we'd never make it back through these woods at night." Finn noted. He sighed. "The two of you were kind of rough on Wells last night."

I scoffed. "Hardly." Clarke rebuked.

"He's lucky we didn't lock his ass out and left him in that fog." I added.

Finn recoiled. "Harsh much Princess Commander." he commented.

I groaned, "Enough with the Princess Commander bullshit." I snapped. "It was cute at first, now it's annoying. Let's just hurry back to camp so we can save Jasper." I walked ahead, leaving Clarke and Finn to talk.

I stopped suddenly when I heard a scream in the distance.

"Who was that?" Clarke asked.

"Sounded like a little girl." I answered.

* * *

I heard the scream again and took off in the direction it was coming from. I stopped when I saw what looked like someone kneeling next to someone else. I moved a little closer and saw that the one kneeling was Bellamy. He glanced over his shoulder and saw me, and I saw who was laying on the ground; Atom.

"Rayleigh." Clarke breathed, jogging up to me. I held my arm out, halting her. "Stay here." I told her. "I got this."

I walked up and knelt on the opposite side of Atom, directly across from Bellamy. "I heard screams." I muttered, setting my pack to the side.

Bellamy cleared his throat. "Charlotte found him." he informed. "I sent her back to camp."

I licked my lips as I inspected Atom's injuries. "Good call." I praised. "She's just a kid, she shouldn't see this." Bellamy nodded in agreement.

I second glanced Atom and checked his pulse on his wrist, which was severely blistered and burned, just like the rest of his exposed skin. I closed my eyes and exhaled, meeting Bellamy's gaze. I shook my head subtly, letting him know there was nothing I could do. Bellamy nodded in understanding.

"Okay." I sighed, looking down into Atom's eyes. "I'm gonna help you, all right?" I ran my fingers through his hair and started humming a tune that my mother always did when she was about to pull the plug on a patient. Keeping my eyes locked with Atom's, I reached across and took the knife Bellamy held. Still humming, I pierced the soft tissue of his neck, slicing the carotid artery. I pulled the blade out and looked up at Bellamy. Atom's breathing ceased and his eyes closed as he slipped into death peacefully.

I stood up and walked over to Bellamy, handing him the knife. "Take solace in that it was peaceful this way." I told him. "There wasn't anything I could've done."

"I know." Bellamy muttered.

I looked back and saw Wells and Finn standing by Clarke. I motioned to Atom's body and Finn nodded, him and Wells walking up to us. I took Bellamy's arm, "Let's get back to camp. Come on."

Bellamy didn't fight me on that and followed as I walked the trail back to camp with him on one side and Clarke on the other.

"Can you save him?" Bellamy asked as we neared camp. "Jasper?"

I looked up and met his eyes. "No one else is dying today." I answered.

* * *

The newly finished gate opened and we walked into camp.

"We've gotta get to Jasper." Clarke muttered.

I nodded. "Go, I'll be there in a sec." I called as she made her way to the ship. I turned to Bellamy. "We'll need boiled water to make the medicine."

"Then boiled water you'll get." Bellamy promised. He turned to one of the girls, Zoe Monroe, "Get her whatever else she needs." he told her, motioning to me.

Monroe nodded. "Boiled water, coming up."

"And more bandages." I called after her. She gave me a thumbs up in reply.

As I went to the drop ship, Bellamy grabbed my arm, making me look back at him. "Work your magic, Princess."

"Like I said, no one else is dying today." I smiled and ran to the ship. As I hit the entrance, Octavia approached me.

"It's about time." she stated. "They're gonna kill Jasper. Did you get the medicine?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Come on. Let's go talk." I tried to get her back into the ship, but she caught Finn and Wells entering camp with the gurney carrying Atom's body. She ran towards them.

I sighed and entered the ship. Monroe followed me inside, "Here's the water you needed." she handed me a tin can full of warm water. Then she draped thick strips of cloth over my arm. "And bandages."

"Thanks Monroe." I replied. "This is all we need."

"No problem Princess Commander." she smiled and walked out.

I rolled my eyes and climbed the ladder, careful not to spill the water.

* * *

Clarke made the tea and I helped lift Jasper's head so he could drink it. Octavia joined us, wiping remnants of tears from her eyes.

"Is that the medicine?" she asked.

"Yeah." Clarke answered. She tilted the cup to Jasper's mouth and he swallowed the tea.

I glanced over at Octavia, who was brushing hair out of Jasper's face. "I'm really sorry about Atom." I consoled.

"I guess we're gonna have to get used to people dying down here, aren't we." she whispered, meeting my eyes. She licked her lips and looked down at Jasper. "But not you. You hear me? You're not allowed to die." she caressed his cheek.

Clarke handed me a bandage for Jasper's infected laceration. "Can you finish up here?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"There's something I've gotta do." she rubbed my arm before leaving.

I raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, placing the cloth over Jasper's infected wound. "This should act in a similar manner to the poultice we found on the spear wound." I noted, pressing the cloth down.

"Will he live?" Monty asked.

"Yeah." I answered. "He's gonna be fine." I stood up and washed my hands off. "You guys watch over him, I'm gonna tell Bellamy the good news."

* * *

I found Bellamy sitting by the fire with his knees pulled up to his chest. I patted his shoulder and sat down next to him, my legs out to the side.

"What's the verdict?" he asked, looking over at me.

"Jasper's gonna pull through." I answered. "He'll be fatigued for a couple days while his body recovers, but he's gonna live."

"Nice work." Bellamy praised. "Should we start calling you Doctor?"

I shook my head. "No. That's okay." I rebuked, reaching up to caress the ring around my neck. I glanced at Bellamy and could still see he was troubled. I reached over and took his hand. "Just because you couldn't end it, doesn't mean you're weak, Bellamy." I assured, his eyes meeting mine. "The last thing you are is weak."

"What does that make you, since you're the one who ended it?" he asked.

I licked my lips, "Sometimes, in the medical practice, euthanasia is the best option." I admitted. "Our ancestors before us, down here, would sometimes pull the plug when there was nothing else they could do for the patient."

Bellamy's fingers caressed the top of my hand, "Was he in any pain? Did he feel anything?"

I shrugged. "I can't say for sure." I sighed. "The burns on his body may have dulled the nerves so maybe he didn't feel it. Instead of him waiting for the inevitable, I sped up the process. By slicing the carotid artery in the neck here," I touched the spot on Bellamy's neck, feeling the blood rushing just beneath the skin. "the blood running through it instead flowed out through the wound. After so many seconds, you feel tired; that's your brain shutting down." I squeezed his hand. "Sort of like falling asleep. So, to answer your question," I shook my head, "no. He wasn't in pain in the end."

I stood up and patted his shoulder, before leaving to find Wells. There was something I needed to say to him.

* * *

 **[Memory]**

"Dad!" Clarke and I called as we ran after the guards who arrested him.

Mom stopped us. "Girls, you shouldn't be here." she whispered. "You don't want to see this."

"There is nothing to see." Jaha informed, him and Wells walking up to us. "Jake didn't want this to be the last memory you three had of him. Instead, he chose to forgo final goodbyes."

"What does that mean?" Clarke asked, tears already falling. I wrapped my hand around her upper back.

Chancellor Jaha sighed, "It means his execution has already been carried out." he answered.

Clarke nearly collapsed, but I caught her. She wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. I held the back of her head, soothing her, closing my eyes, but tears fell anyway.

"I'm sorry Abby." Jaha apologized. "Jake gave me a message to give to you three; he loves you with all his heart and spirit, and you will meet again someday."

Kane and a few members of the Guard approached us. "I'm sorry it came to this Abby." he stated, as one guardsman pulled Clarke away from me.

"Hey." I objected, but two more apprehended me. "Kane, what the hell is going on?"

"Clarke Griffin, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason." Kane stated. "Rayleigh Griffin, you're also under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason and assaulting two members of the Guard."

My arms were held behind me and handcuffs were applied. "Mom, please don't let them do this." Clarke begged. "Mom."

She looked at the both of us, then up at Kane. "I just lost my husband." she reminded. "Please, don't take my daughters away from me too."

Kane lowered his head, "I'll give you a minute." he stepped back and let mom talk to the two of us.

"Mom." Clarke whimpered.

She wrapped her arms around the two of us, rubbing our backs soothingly. "I'm so sorry girls." she whispered, her voice cracking. "I love you both so much." she pulled away and looked at us. "Just know, neither of you are at fault here."

Kane nodded his head, and the guards pulled us away from our mom and pushed us down the hall. I tried to break free, but it was useless. Clarke and I were hauled away, and all our mother could do was watch.

We were hauled up to Prison Station, I could feel people staring at us yet I kept my eyes glued to the floor. A total of six guards escorted us; two up front and two each holding me and my sister, leading us to our cell.

"You there." one guard ahead of us called. "Has this cell already been cleaned?" from the question, I deducted he was talking with one of the janitorial staff.

"Yes sir." the male janitor replied, and I recognized his voice. I looked up to see if I was right, but the door opened before I could get a decent look.

"Guardsman." Kane called, walking up to us. "Let me have a quick word with this one." he pointed to me. "You can uncuff her, she's smart enough not to add to what's been laid against her."

The guardsman uncuffed me and I placed my hands on my hips, glaring at Kane. "Start talking." I quipped. "Don't know how long I can hold out before I deck you into next century."

Kane stepped closer to me. "I'm sorry about your father, Rayleigh." he apologized. "He was a good man."

I raised an eyebrow. "Tell me something I don't know." I sighed, my ponytail draped over my shoulder. "And you say you're sorry, but you're not. If we all die up here, that's on you."

Kane sighed, his expression calm and stoic. "Rayleigh, you just lost your father. You're upset and not thinking-"

"Damn right, I'm upset, I didn't even get to say goodbye." I cut him off. "Float you Kane." I spun on my heels and walked towards the cell I was sentenced to until I turned eighteen.

The space was adequate to say the least, with a small end table and a bunk bed. Clarke sat on the bottom bunk, her face in her hands. I sighed heavily and walked inside, hearing the door slam shut and lock behind me. I cast a glance over my shoulder and saw the janitor on the other side. His eyes met mine and I instantly recognized him, although, the last time I saw him he was a Cadet. He looked away and walked off, and I sat next to my sister, rubbing her shoulders as she turned to look at me.

"We're gonna be okay." I assured. Clarke leaned into me, continuing her crying. I wrapped her in my arms, my chin on her head. "We're gonna be okay." I repeated, letting the tears I held back out.

The only person that I could think of that turned in my father was the boy I had fallen in love with. The moment I came to realize that, was the moment all that love turned to hate.

* * *

 **[Present Day]**

I saw Clarke pull away from Wells' embrace and cleared my throat. "Sis, can I have a word with him alone?"

"Sure." she replied, walking past me. "I'll be in the drop ship."

I nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out nice and slow. I walked up to Wells, "It was my mom, wasn't it?" I asked him, my eyes locked with his. "She's the one who told your dad." he didn't answer. "Wells, tell me the truth. I deserve to know."

He sighed. "It's true." he confirmed. I bit my lip and ran my hand through my hair. "I knew how you would feel." Wells continued, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I wanted to…"

"to protect me." I finished, sniffling. "So, you let me, and Clarke, hate you." I wiped the moisture from my eyes. "I was so bitter towards you, how can you ever forgive me?"

Wells pulled me into a hug, kissing the top of my head. "Because I already have." he answered, pushing me back. He leaned down and kissed me, and this time I didn't pull away. I placed my hands on his upper arms and actually kissed back, remembering how in love I used to be.

He was the first to pull back, and touched his forehead to mine. I licked my lips and opened my eyes. "Let's start over." I voted, my lips curling into a smile. "Clean slate." I moved my hands down to take his. "Who knows if we'll ever get back to how we were before. But, I know that if I'm gonna make it down here, I'm gonna need you.

"I'll always be here for you." he promised, kissing my forehead. "No matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you." he caressed my cheek. "You're the girl I'm always gonna love.

"First love's stay with you forever." I noted, smiling. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight Wells."

"Goodnight Ray." he replied.

I slipped my hands out of his and walked away, feeling as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

* * *

As I climbed the the ladder back to where Jasper was recovering, I heard faint sounds of laughter. I poked my head up and smiled, seeing Jasper talking to Octavia.

"Take it easy, Romeo." I warned, pulling myself up the opening.

Jasper looked in my direction. "My other savior." he chuckled. "The Princess Commander."

"Is that ever gonna get old?" I asked, walking up to Jasper's side.

"Depends." Finn answered. "You ever gonna stop ordering us around?"

I looked over at him. "Someone has to keep some form of order around here."

"Then no." Octavia chided. "It's not gonna get old."

I chuckled and checked Jasper's pulse, smiling. "Well, Jasper, your pulse is already getting stronger." I noted, looking down at him. "That's great."

"Thank you for not giving up on me, Rayleigh." Jasper said, grinning.

I squeezed his hand, "And thank you for not making a liar out of me." I replied.

Finn held out the bottle of whiskey, "I say we toast to Clarke and Rayleigh, for saving Jasper." he voted, handing my sister the bottle.

Clarke took a gulp and held the bottle out to me. I took it and did the same, holding it up. "All in a day's work."

* * *

 **[Memory]**

The cell door opened and Chancellor Jaha walked in, with my mother following. "What's going on?" I asked, sitting on the top bunk.

"As the law states, the both of you will remain in this cell until your review come your eighteenth birthday." Jaha informed.

"Kinda figured that much, sir." I replied.

Mom stepped forward. "Before your dad," she swallowed and exhaled slowly. "before the law was carried out, he left behind a couple things for you girls." she walked up to the bed, handing us each a piece of folded paper with an object inside.

I took the paper from her and a copper red ring with a single clear stone in the middle attached to a long, silver chain slid out. I crossed my legs and laid it over my knee, reading the letter. There was no doubt the handwriting was my dad's. The note read

 _"My sweet Rayleigh,_

 _I'm sorry it had to be like this, but I didn't want you to be haunted by what you would've witnessed. So instead, I chose to write this letter and enclosed in it is the ring I made for your mother when I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I love you more than words, and I know someday you'll find someone who'll feel that very same way about you. When that happens, and you realize that he (or she) is the one you want to be with forever give him (or her) that ring, to slide onto your finger. The only thing I ask is that you're happy with whomever you choose. Know that you have my blessing. Take care of your mom and sister. I know we'll meet again someday. I love you baby girl,_

 _Love, Dad"_

Tears fell from my eyes and down my face as I held the chain in front of me. I slipped it over my head, pulling my hair free. The ring rested perfectly in between my breasts, and I reached up to caress it. "I love you dad." I whimpered, letting the tears fall.

* * *

 **[Present Day]**

The next morning I checked Jasper's vitals and was relieved they were stronger than before. I went outside and some people were busy working more on the wall.

"Good morning Princess." Bellamy greeted.

"I see you've been busy." I noted, noting the progress on the wall.

Bellamy nodded. "How's Jasper?" he asked.

"Great." I replied, my hands on my hips.

I smiled at Bellamy and jogged over to the section where Wells was standing watch. When I came to the ridge, I looked around but couldn't find him. I saw something down the hill and went to investigate. What I saw made me scream and I fell to the ground.


	5. For Now, We Make The Rules

**For Now, We Make The Rules**

* * *

I sat on the drop ship ramp, twisting my necklace around my finger. The shock over the most recent death was slowly fading, and the truth was rearing it's head. Someone held a cup of water in front of me. I looked up and saw Octavia, her eyes apologetic.

"Take it." she offered, sitting down next to me. "We can't have our medical expert passing out on us. Not with the Grounders out there."

I gave her a small smile and took the water. "Thanks O." I replied, sipping the liquid.

Octavia nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry." she apologized.

I shook my head. "Like you said, we're gonna have to get used to people dying." I reminded, gulping down the rest of the water. "I hated him this past year, and for what? So I wouldn't completely shut people out." I exhaled sharply. "He let me hate him so that I wouldn't hate my mother."

Octavia looked at me. "Your mother?" she repeated.

I met her eyes and nodded, letting the ring fall from my grasp. "My mother's the one who turned in my father." I informed. "She's the reason he's dead." I wiped the welling moisture from my eyes with my jacket sleeve. "I just wish there was something I could do, to tell her I know. Make her feel what I'm-" I looked down at the wristband on my right arm.

"Rayleigh?" Octavia questioned. I jumped up and entered the drop ship. "Hey, Ray, where are you going?"

She followed me inside where I sat next to Monty. "Can I help you?" he asked.

I slammed my right arm in front of him, revealing my wristband. "Take it off." I answered. When he hesitated, I rolled up my jacket sleeve, "Monty!"

"Okay." he grabbed one of his tools and began working to remove the clunky metal object.

The latch opened and Clarke and Finn joined us. "Looks like you two had the same idea." Finn noted.

"We are twins." Clarke reminded.

"So you both want to punish your mother?" Finn questioned.

Clarke and I nodded. I winced as Monty pried my wristband off and it clattered onto the table I rubbed where it once was. "Well, will it work?" I asked him.

"Yeah." Monty answered, beaming.

"My turn." Clarke traded spots with me. "If we're lucky mine will still work too."

"Then that doubles our chances." Monty added, working to remove Clarke's wristband. "Maybe I can somehow connect the power sources of both wristbands to get a better signal."

"Whatever you say Monty." I chuckled.

Clarke's wristband fell on the table and Monty threw up his hands in victory. "Yes! They're both still operational."

"Go Monty." Octavia praised.

I saw the look of disappointment in Finn's eyes. "Look Finn, they're running out of air p there." I reminded. "We need their help. My mother thinking Clarke and I are dead is only temporary."

"Not if I can't patch it through the drop ship mainframe." Monty cut in.

"Can you?" Octavia asked.

Monty nodded, grinning. "We'll be talking to The Ark by nightfall." he informed.

I ruffled his hair. "Get to work Monty." I patted his shoulder before descending the ladder to the lower drop ship level.

Outside, everyone was continuing the wall construction, uping our defenses for another Grounder attack. I saw one of the guys, Connor, collapse, dropping the tree trunk he was carrying.

"Hey!" Murphy called, marching to Connor. "You think the Grounders are just gonna sit around, and wait for us to finish the wall? Maybe we should let the little girl do the lifting for you, huh?"

I stormed up up to Murphy and shoved him back. "Back off Murphy." I hissed, kneeling next to Connor. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Connor panted a little before answering me. "I just need some water, then I'll be fine." he coughed.

I patted his back. "How long have you been working?" I asked, noting the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Uh, since first light." Connor answered.

I licked my lips, "And you haven't had a water break since?" I deducted.

He nodded, and I stood up and shoved Murphy back. "What are you thinking you arrogant dick?" I snapped. "You can't just work people for hours without water!"

"Who died and put you in charge, Princess?" Murphy scoffed, shoving me in retaliation.

"I'm just looking out for everyone." I defended. "Unlike you, you selfish bastard!" Before I could slug him, Bellamy grabbed my arm.

"What's the problem here?" he asked, calmly.

I yanked my arm from his grip, flipping my hair back. Murphy shook his head, "Just trying to get the wall finished. But psycho Princess is getting in the way."

"I'm looking out for everyone." I repeated, looking at Bellamy. "This wall's never gonna get finished if people start passing out from dehydration." I motioned to Connor. "He needs water."

Bellamy looked down at Connor and sighed. "Murphy." he hollered, "Get him some water."

Murphy didn't argue and left. I scoffed and knelt down by Connor, un-screwing the lid of my own canteen, pouring some water into it and offered it to him. "Here, just to quench the immediate thirst."

"Thank you." Connor replied, dumping the water down his throat, sighing in relief.

I took the lid back and wiped down the edges, standing up. I saw Charlotte watching us. I smiled and poured more water into the lid, and offered it to her. "Want some too?" I asked.

She nodded and took the lid, downing it in one gulp, wiping her chin with her jacket sleeve. "Thanks Rayleigh." she muttered, handing the lid back.

I wiped it down again before screwing it back on my canteen. "No problem." I gave her a smile and put my canteen back in my pack. I turned my attention back to Bellamy, who stood with his arms folded over his chest. "What?"

"Just nice to see you're not a complete cold-hearted bitch." he chuckled, smirking.

I picked up the front end of the tree trunk. "We all need to pitch in if this is gonna work." I sighed, hoisting the trunk on my shoulder. "Besides, if any of these guys are gonna end up under my care, it'd better be because of something much more severe than simple dehydration and exhaustion."

Bellamy shook his head and picked up the other end of the trunk. "Whatever Princess." he replied.

"Where does this hunk of wood go?" I asked, motioning to the trunk.

"No, you just focus on doing what you're good at." Bellamy rebuked. "I'll handle the wall."

"So far no one's passing out, or has broken anything." I noted. "And no one's been wounded by Grounders either."

When he saw that I wasn't gonna let go of my end, Bellamy shook his head. "That section ahead." he answered.

I nodded and helped him move the trunk to the section he motioned to and we lifted it up on the top. I hoisted myself up and held my end in place while Bellamy tied his off with some wire. He tossed it to me so I could do the same.

"Where's your wristband Princess?" he asked.

"With Monty." I answered, tying off the trunk. "I figured that every time I got angry, my mother would interpret the change in vitals as something bad. So I wouldn't worry about her, I had Monty take it off." I climbed down the wall, brushing my hands on my pants. "Figured it would be better served to contact the Ark. Clarke took hers off too."

Bellamy just nodded. "Will Monty be able to do it?" he asked.

I rubbed my right wrist and met his eyes. "Maybe in a day or two." I lied, hoping he wouldn't test it. "Something like that takes time."

Before he could say something, we both heard sounds of an out-breaking fight; between Connor and Murphy.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Murphy?" Connor yelled, pushing him back.

Murphy just smirked. "You wanted a water break." he chuckled. "Get back to work!" he ordered.

"Dick." I muttered, shaking my head.

* * *

I ran my hand over my hair and sighed, making my way back to the drop ship, going back to my project from the day before; making my own personal weapon. I fashioned a bow together with sturdy branches and useless wires from the drop ship, and used old animal bones from previous kills and small rocks for arrows.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Monty asked, as he worked on his communication project.

"I read it in an old book back on the Ark." I answered, setting the arrows in my pack. "Our ancient ancestors made weapons like this for hunting. I came across it when I was researching medicinal herbs for an exam."

"Nice." Monty praised.

I glanced over at him, "Thanks." I replied.

I smoothed out my newly finished arrow when Clarke entered the drop ship, "Hey Ray, can we talk?" she asked.

"Sure, what about?" I questioned, looking up at her.

"Not here." she whispered, offering me her hand. "Come with me."

* * *

I took her hand, grabbing my weapon and followed Clarke to one of the tents and saw that it wasn't exactly empty. Bellamy, Octavia, and Jasper all stood around the table.

"What's going on?" I asked, slightly confused.

Clarke unrolled the piece of cloth next to a knife, and I put my hand over my mouth to suppress a gasp. Laying on the cloth were two disembodied fingers, the fingers Wells' body was missing when I found him the day before.

"Who found these and where?" I asked, regaining my composure.

"Jasper and I did." Octavia answered. "Just outside the wall, along with the knife."

Clarke handed me the knife in question, and I looked it over. "This knife was made of metal from the drop ship." I noted.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"Who else knows about this?" Bellamy demanded.

"No one." Octavia informed. "We brought it straight here."

"Rayleigh?" Jasper muttered, touching my arm.

I took a shuddering breath. "The fact that this knife is made of something from our ship means one thing." I told him.

"It means the Grounders didn't kill Wells." Clarke continued, taking the knife from me. "It was one of us."

Jasper gasped, his jaw dropped. "So, there's a murderer in the camp?" he questioned.

"There's more than one murderer in this camp." Bellamy reminded. "This isn't news. We need to keep it quiet."

I scoffed and went to leave, but Bellamy stood in my way. "Get out of my way, Blake." I demanded.

"Be smart about this, Princess." he warned. "Look at what we've achieved; the wall, the patrols. Like it or not, thinking the Grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Oh, good for you, you mean." I rebuked. "What,keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. That's it." Bellamy confirmed. "It's good for all of us. Fear of the Grounders is building that wall. And besides, what are you gonna do?" he asked. "Just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."

"Oh, really?" Clarke challenged, holding out the knife, pointing to the initials on the underside of the handle. "J.M. John Murphy." she stated.

I took the knife from her, "The people have a right to know." I said to Bellamy, before shoving past him and charging into the center of camp, right up to Murphy. "You son of a bitch!" I screamed, punching Murphy in the jaw.

"What's your problem?" Murphy hissed, wiping the blood from his lip.

"Recognize this?" I held up the knife, and Murphy's expression changed.

"It's my knife." he muttered. "Where'd you find it?"

"Where you dropped it after you killed Wells." Clarke answered, standing next to me.

"Where I what?" Murphy repeated. "The Grounders killed Wells, not me."

I shook my head. "I know what you did, and you're gonna pay for it." I threatened.

"Really?" Murphy challenged, staring me down. He looked behind me, where a crowd had gathered, Bellamy standing at the front. "Bellamy, you really believe this crap?"

"You threatened to kill him. We all heard you." Clarke pointed out. "You hated Wells."

"Plenty of people hated Wells." Murphy reminded. "His father was the Chancellor that locked us up."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who got in a knife fight with him." I replied, biting back the surge of emotions boiling inside me.

Murphy nodded. "Yeah, I didn't kill him then, either." he defended.

"He tried to kill Jasper, too." Octavia added.

"Come on. This is ridiculous." Murphy sighed. "I don't have to answer to you." he glared at me and Clarke. "I don't have to answer to anyone."

"Come again?" Bellamy spoke up.

"Bellamy, look, I'm telling you, man. I didn't do this." Murphy defended again, approaching Bellamy.

Bellamy sighed, his arms crossed over his chest. "They found his fingers on the ground with your knife." he informed.

"Is this the kind of society that we want?" I asked aloud, getting everyone's attention. I looked directly at Bellamy, "You say there should be no rules. Does that mean that we can kill each other without punishment?"

"I already told you. I didn't kill anyone." Murphy stated.

"I say we float him." Connor suggested, and the rest of the camp yelled in agreement.

Clarke shook her head. "That's not what Ray's saying." she defended.

"Why not?" Connor asked, looking at me. "He deserves to float. It's justice."

"Revenge isn't justice." I pointed out.

"It's justice." Connor rebuked. "Float him!"

And anarchy ensued once more. Everyone gathered around and started beating on Murphy, tying a piece of cloth around his mouth and kicking him outside the wall. Despite mine and Clarke's protests, the beating went on.

I grabbed Bellamy's arm as he moved towards me. "You can stop this!" I practically screamed. "They'll listen to you!"

"Bellamy!" one of the younger delinquents, Myles, called. "You should do it."

Soon all of them were chanting Bellamy's name. I grabbed his arm and met his eyes, "I saw you in the woods with Atom." I reminded. "I know you're not a killer." I could see in his eyes he was weighing the options. When he shoved past me, I knew what choice he made, and I still went to stop him. "You can't do this, Bellamy!" I screamed.

Bellamy kicked the box out from under Murphy, subjecting him to hanging. "Bellamy, no!" I yelled.

He spun around and grabbed my arms, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. "This is on you, Princess." he barked. "You should've kept your mouth shut."

"What the hell are you doing?" Finn asked, running into the mob. "Cut him down!" he pushed Charlotte out of the way and Clarke made her avert her eyes.

"Stop!" Charlotte screamed. "Murphy didn't kill Wells! I did."

"Oh, my God." Clarke muttered.

I grabbed one of my arrows and lined it in the bowstring, pulling it back. I aimed for the junction of the rope where it neared the branch, and fired. The arrow hit it's target and cut the rope, causing Murphy to fall to the ground.

* * *

Clarke and Finn hurried Charlotte back into camp with Bellamy and I right behind them. We took refuge in the tent we were in earlier, with the rest of the camp blocking our exit.

"Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy yelled, fuming with rage.

My emotions had died down and I realized what a huge mistake I just made. I ran my fingers through my hair, taking deep breaths and exhaling, almost rhythmically.

"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy asked, kneeling in front of the young girl. "Why'd you do it?"

"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me." she answered, sniffling.

"What the hell is she talking about?" I asked, looking at the two of them.

Bellamy met my eyes. "She misunderstood me." he defended, turning his attention back to Charlotte. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."

"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy yelled again.

"Please don't let them hurt me." Charlotte whimpered, clutching Bellamy's arm.

"If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up." Bellamy insisted. None of us spoke, just exchanged glances. "Now you stay quiet."

"Those are your boys out there." Finn reminded, pointing in the direction the mob was gathered

"This is not my fault." Bellamy threw out. "If she had listened to me," he motioned to me. "those idiots would still be building the wall."

"You want to build a society, Princess Commander?" Murphy called. "Let's build a society. Bring her out."

"No!" Charlotte whimpered, tightening her grip on Bellamy's arm. "Please, Bellamy." she begged.

"Charlotte, hey, it's gonna be okay." Bellamy assured. "Just stay with them."

"What do you want us to do?" Clarke asked.

"Get her out of here." Bellamy answered.

Charlotte walked over and stood next to Finn. "I'll stay back and keep them here, buying you three time to get Charlotte out of camp." Bellamy added.

I draped my hair over my shoulder and cracked a small smile. He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, "Something funny, Princess?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nice to see you're not a total hard-ass." I replied.

Bellamy reached out and took my hand, "Just keep an eye on her until I find you guys." he told me.

I nodded. "Okay."

Bellamy left the tent we went out the back, grabbing emergency packs and running into the woods, leaving our camp behind us for now.

* * *

The sun nearly set, and we were out in the middle of the woods. "It's gonna be night soon, Finn." I noted. "Where are we going?"

Finn didn't answer. Clarke sighed in annoyance. "At least tell me you have a plan and we're not just wandering aimlessly through the woods."

"I have a plan." Finn informed.

Charlotte reached out to take my hand. I yanked it away, looking down at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I accused. "Just because we saved you doesn't mean you're forgiven. Got it?"

"Rayleigh, take it easy." Finn said, calmly. "She's just a kid."

"She's a killer." Clarke rebuked, turning to the little girl beside me. "You killed someone, Charlotte. Ended his life." she reiterated. "Did you stop to think about that for even one second?"

She looked down at her feet. "Look at me." I told her. She lifted her head and met my eyes. "You can't just kill someone to make yourself feel better. That's not the way it works."

"Charlotte!" Murphy yelled, leading a small search party not far behind us. "Rayleigh, Clarke, and Finn can't save you."

"We should run." Clarke suggested.

"Yeah, that's one way to go." Finn agreed. "I like my plan better." he bent down and opened some sort of hatch.

"Another buried automobile?" I questioned.

"Better." He corrected. "Get in."

* * *

Seeing as how our other option was facing Murphy, I followed down the hatch. Finn was the last and locked it, sealing us inside some sort of bunker.

"Finn, what is this place?" Clarke asked.

"For now, it's home." Finn answered.

I looked around, seeing tons of supplies that would be beneficial to our survival. "I can't believe you kept this place quiet." I noted, lighting a couple candles for extra light.

"Come on." Finn chuckled. "What would be the point of telling anybody?"

"Some of this stuff could be useful." Clarke threw out.

"Like what? There's no weapons." Finn informed. "All the food expired, like, ninety years ago."

I nodded. "Yeah, but we could re-purpose." I reminded, motioning to the various bedding and tools.

"You know, share with the others." Clarke clarified.

Finn cracked a smile and handed her a jar of colored pencils. "You can share this with the others if you'd like." he chuckled. He looked in my direction and tossed me a red duffle bag with a white cross. "That might interest you."

I sat on a dark purple beanbag chair and unzipped the bag. Inside was various medical supplies; syringes, needles, gauze, wrapping, and multiple pill bottles and empty vials. I rummaged through, checking dates on the pill bottles, and finding out they weren't even opened.

Clarke made up a bed for Charlotte while I zipped up the medical duffle. "I'm bringing this back with us, it could come in handy." I voted, setting it beside the chair I was in.

"Better safe than sorry, right." Clarke nodded, handing me a thick, blue blanket. "How are you?"

"You mean, how do I feel about aiding the girl who killed our best friend?" I questioned. I sighed heavily, "I don't know."

"Guess living down here was harder than we thought." Clarke admitted.

"No kidding." I agreed, looking over at Charlotte, who was sleeping. "What are we gonna do about her?" I wondered. "If I hadn't confronted Murphy, none of this would have happened."

"How could you know it'd go down like that?" Finn asked, sitting on the table across from me.

"Bellamy knew." I answered. "We think the Grounders are a threat. Now we're killing each other." I pulled my knees up and laid my legs to the side. "There have to be consequences. There need to be rules."

"Rayleigh's right." Clarke agreed. "We can't just hang people."

"Hopefully, we figure it out before Murphy kills us for helping her." Finn noted, moving to the couch.

I pulled the blanket around me. "Something tells me that Murphy's not the forgive and forget type." I muttered, closing my eyes.

* * *

I jolted awake, and realized that it was a mistake to close my eyes. I looked around and saw Charlotte was gone. "Finn. Clarke." I snapped, shaking them awake. "Wake up."

"Ray?" Clarke questioned, rubbing her eyes. "What?"

"Charlotte's gone." I informed, and that got them up. We grabbed our packs, and I also took the medical bag, and we climbed out of the bunker. It was densly dark outside, and barely any moonlight to see where we were going.

Using the small flashlights we brought along with us, we followed the footprints in the mud. However, we got a better location when we hard Charlotte scream.

"Murphy has her." Clarke gasped, running the direction of the screams.

I saw torchlight up ahead and we picked up the pace, coming to a steep cliff. Murphy and four others from camp held torches, blocking the only path away from the cliff's edge, which Bellamy and Charlotte were near. Rain started pouring down as we ran.

* * *

"Bellamy!" I called, running through the brush. The three of us stood near Murphy's search party. "Stop! This has gone too far." I stated. "Calm down and we'll talk about this."

"I'm sick of listening to you talk, Princess." Murphy scoffed, punching me in the face, causing my pack to fall to the ground.

I spit out the blood and met his glare. "Look, I know I made a mistake." I admitted.

"Damn right, and now, you're gonna pay." Murphy grabbed my arm and held me close to him, his knife against my throat.

"Rayleigh!" Clarke called, trying to get to me, but Finn held her back.

"Let her go, Murphy." Bellamy ordered, taking a step closer to us.

"One more step and I'll slit her throat." Murphy threatened, pressing the knife into my skin.

"No, please." Charlotte begged. "Please don't hurt her."

"Don't hurt her?" Murphy repeated, nodding. "Okay, I'll make you a deal." he offered. "You come with me right now, and I'll let her go." he promised.

I gripped his forearm, trying to pull the knife away from my neck. "Don't do it, Charlotte." I whispered.

Charlotte took a step closer, but Bellamy pulled her back. "No, I have to!" Charlotte admitted, tears streaming down her face.

"Murphy, this is not happening." Bellamy ordered.

"I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me." Charlotte admitted, looking up at Bellamy, than to me. "Not after what I did."

I could see the look in her eyes, and knew what she was planning. "Charlotte, no, that's not the answer." I told her, trying to step forward. Murphy's grip only tightened.

"I'm sorry." she apologized. Then, she turned around and jumped.

"Charlotte!" Clarke and I screamed. I yanked myself free and collapsed by the cliff's edge, just catching her body hit the water below. "No! No." I felt the tears flow from my eyes, mixing with the pouring rain.

Bellamy used my shoulder to stand up, turning to face Murphy. I heard the sounds of yet another fight, and whipped my head around to see Bellamy beating Murphy to near death.

"Bellamy, stop!" Clarke yelled. "You'll kill him!"

Finn pulled him off and held him back, giving Clarke and I room to stand between them. "He deserves to die." Bellamy panted, still visible angry.

"No!" I rebuked.

"We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here." Clarke added.

Bellamy's breathing regulated, glancing between me and Clarke. "So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide-"

"No, I was wrong before, okay? You were right." I cut him off, sighing in defeat. "Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want.

"We need rules." Clarke continued, standing firm.

"And who makes those rules, huh?" Bellamy asked. "You two? The Princess Commander and the younger Princess?"

I stepped closer to him. "For now, we make the rules." I answered.

"So, what, then?" Bellamy shrugged, his arms hitting his sides. "We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?"

"No." I replied.

"We banish him." Clarke brought up.

Everyone looked around and it seemed like they agreed. Bellamy pulled Murphy by the collar of his jacket. "Get up." he ordered, yanking him to his feet. He half-dragged Murphy to the cliff's edge.

"Bellamy!" I yelled. "Don't!"

"If I ever catch you near camp, we'll be back here. Understand?" he demanded, shoving him back to the ground at our feet. "As for the four of you," he motioned to the kids holding the torches. "you can come back and follow me, or go off with him to die. Your choice." And he stormed back into the woods.

I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes. Clarke handed me the red duffle and my pack. I just gave her a glance and followed Bellamy, leaving Murphy to his own fate.

* * *

Back at camp, I explained what happened with Murphy and Charlotte. Bellamy went on to add if anyone pulled a similar stunt to what Murphy did, they would suffer the same fate. From the looks I could see in everyone's eyes, they understood.

I walked back towards the drop ship, wanting to check up on Monty. Bellamy grabbed my arm, halting me. "What? Looking to say 'I told you so'?" I asked, glancing back at him.

"Just seeing how you're doing." he answered. "You're unusually quiet, for you."

"A little girl just ended her life because of what I did." I reminded. "What happened to Murphy and Charlotte, that's on me. Because I made a stupid mistake."

"Hey." Bellamy halted, tightening his grip on my arm. "Charlotte's death was not your fault."

I pulled my arm free. "Sorry Bellamy, this is one thing you can't fix." I admitted. "I'm just gonna do what I'm good at; keeping us alive." I adjusted the medical bag on my shoulder. "I'm gonna set up shop in the drop ship, so if we have another incident like what happened to Jasper, I'll be ready to save them."

Bellamy nodded. "Okay." he agreed. "Just get some rest. Because like it or not, our survival depends on you." he took a step closer to me, brushing some of my damp hair from my face. "If we're attacked by Grounders, we're gonna need you to patch us up."

I licked my lips, "No pressure." I muttered.

"You can do it." Bellamy assured. "Now, rest up Princess. Tomorrow's another day."

I watched as he walked back to his tent, shaking my head.

* * *

I ducked inside the ship and saw Jasper, Octavia, Clarke, and Finn crowded around Monty's communications station.

"You get it?" I asked, standing by Octavia.

"Oh yeah." Monty answered.

"Will we be able to talk to them?" Clarke questioned, rubbing her hands together.

"No. More like Morse code." Monty replied. He turned to Jasper, handing him the tool he was using. "You want to do the honors?" he asked. Jasper nodded and took the tool, stepping up. "That port right there." Monty pointed to a small junctions where both wristbands intersected. Jasper leaned in close and lightly pressed the tool tip into the junction. A spark flew and the lights of the wristband died out.

Finn winced as his wristband clicked off. "What the hell?" he groaned.

"What happened?" Clarke asked.

"It didn't work." Monty answered, closing his eyes for a second. He opened them and looked at me. "I think we fried all the wristbands."

"Meaning the remaining signals are terminated." I deducted, running my hands over my hair.

Finn stormed out of the drop ship and Clarke followed him. Jasper sat by the lever, sighing in defeat. Octavia joined him.

"Sorry Rayleigh, I thought if I used both the signal would be stronger and we'd have a better chance." Monty apologized.

"It's alright Monty." I replied. "You did the best you could." I paced beside his table. "We'll just have to find another way."

I looked over and saw Octavia kiss Jasper, and looked away. Monty's eyes flickered up to me. "I won't tell Bellamy if you won't." I promised.

He held out his fist and I tapped it with my own, cracking a smile. "What do you want me to do?" Monty asked.

I sighed. "For now, rest." I answered. "We'll come up with something else in the morning." I looked around. "Any more of that whiskey left?"

Monty reached under the table and handed me the half empty bottle. I snatched it from him and took a swig.

"Aren't you supposed to be our doctor?" Octavia reminded, raising an eyebrow.

I looked over at her and mirrored her look. "Consider me off duty." I stated, taking another drink. I sat by my pack and shrugged off my jacket, leaning against the medical duffle. "Goodnight."


	6. Twilight's Last Gleaming

**Twilight's Last Gleaming**

* * *

"Rayleigh, wake up." someone whispered, shaking my shoulder.

I rolled over and opened my eyes, an image of Jasper getting clearer. "Yes Jasper?" I asked, still semi-asleep.

Jasper took my arms and lifted me to a sitting position. "You've gotta see this." he rattled, trying to pull me to my feet.

I complied and the blanket around me fell to the ground, leaving me in my tank top and makeshift shorts. Jasper and Monty then practically herded me outside, where everyone else in camp was. "What's going on?" I muttered, looking around.

"Look up." Monty suggested, pointing up at the sky.

My eyes widened as I saw what appeared to be a shooting star, but I knew better.

"They're coming to help us." someone called.

"Now we can kick some grounder ass." another voted.

"Please tell me they brought down some shampoo." a girl sighed next to me, wrapped in a blanket.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "What do you think''s in it?" Jasper asked.

"I'm thinking a cargo pod." I answered. "Probably full of nutrition packs and medical supplies." I shrugged. "Maybe someone up there thinks we're still alive down here."

"Think there might be a radio?" Monty whispered.

I looked over at him and nodded. I caught a shirtless Bellamy going back to the tent used for meetings. He stopped near me, Monty, and Jasper. "Come on Princess, let's talk." he motioned to the tent and reluctantly followed.

* * *

I ducked under Bellamy's arm as I entered the tent. I saw a shirt in the corner and tossed it to him. "So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause if you're looking for action, go find another girl."

Bellamy chuckled, "Believe me, that's not why I asked you in here." he corrected, "I just want to determine where that ship landed. Any suggestions?"

"It's more likely a pod." I informed, leaning against the table. "Some people on the Ark still think we're alive and probably sent down supplies." I glanced down at the map, "If it cleared the ridge, it's probably near the lake.

"We should get moving." Octavia voted, bursting into the tent. "Everyone's ready."

Bellamy shook his head. "No one's going anywhere." he ordered "Not while it's dark. It isn't safe."

"So, when should we go for it?" Octavia asked, looking at him.

"We'll head out at first light." he answered, looking at his. "Pass the word."

Octavia nodded returning outside, leaving me and Bellamy alone. "I'll get my gear ready and meet ya." I went to leave, but Bellamy pushed me back.

"Who said you were going?" he questioned.

I scoffed. "If you think I trust you going out there alone, you're crazy and stupid." I replied, closing the distance between us. "I can tell you're hiding something, probably the real reason you wanted the Ark to think we're dead."

"What, you think you're a shrink now too?" Bellamy scoffed.

I shook my head. "No, I'm just good at picking up when people are lying." I smiled, poking his chest. "And you Bellamy Blake, are. I'll see you at dawn." I slipped past him and went back to the drop ship.

* * *

"What's the plan?" Jasper asked as I walked inside.

"I'm leaving at dawn with Bellamy." I answered, reaching for a long-sleeved shirt, draping it over a chair. "I don't trust him going to that pod alone. I'm getting that radio." I stripped out of my tank top and threw on the shirt. "I need you guys to do something for me while I'm gone."

"Name it." Monty offered.

I smiled, sliding off my shorts and slipping into a pair of black cargo pants. "I need you guys to start organizing the supplies in this duffle bag." I set the medical duffle on the table. "It'll make things easier for me to help in case of another Grounder attack."

"We'll get right on it." Jasper agreed.

I smiled and pulled my hair into a low ponytail. "And hopefully that radio wasn't fried in the landing." I hoped. "I'll bring it back and we can try to contact the Ark again."

* * *

About half an hour later, Clarke and Finn walked in, grabbing some gear. "Hello." Jasper waved.

Clarke glanced in his direction before approaching me. "You see the pod too?" she asked.

I, along with Jasper and Monty, nodded. "Yeah." I answered. "Everyone saw it."

"Including Bellamy?" Finn questioned.

"Yep." I confirmed.

Clarke shoved all of her gear into a pack, slinging it over her shoulder. "Let's go." she voted.

"Bellamy told Rayleigh that he was gonna wait until sunrise." Jasper told her.

"We didn't see him around camp." Finn replied.

"He's probably finishing up with those two girls." I muttered, seeing my sister crinkle her nose slightly. But, something in my gut told me otherwise. "Oh, don't tell me-" I grabbed my pack and stormed out of the ship, marching towards Bellamy's tent.

I burst inside and find two girls getting dressed, and no Bellamy around. "Ever hear of knocking, bitch?" one of the girls groaned. She rolled her eyes when Finn and Clarke joined me. " Oh, great, it's a free show. Anyone else want to take a look?"

"Shut it Roma." I snapped. "Where the hell is Bellamy?"

She shrugged. "He took off a while ago."

"Gear's gone." Finn noted.

I rolled my eyes and gripped the strap of my backpack. "Oh that rat bastard!" I scoffed, turning to Clarke and Finn. "Whatever's in that pod, he wants it. We've gotta get there before he does." I stormed out of the tent and made my way out of camp, with Clarke and Finn right behind me.

"Hey Rayleigh!" Finn called, keeping pace with me. "This isn't your fault."

"I should've known he'd go for that radio." I muttered.

"How are you supposed to know something like that?" Finn asked.

I rolled my eyes. " Because he's spent every single minute since we landed making sure no one on The Ark finds out we're alive." I yelled. "I knew he was hiding his real reasons and I tipped him off that I knew. Told him I didn't trust him going alone." I kicked a stone out of my path.

"It doesn't mean you can predict what people are gonna do." Clarke said, taking my arm.

I sighed and looked over at her. "That's exactly what I have to do." I rebuked. "I screwed up, Clarke. And if Bellamy get's that radio before we do, everyone on The Ark will die." I huffed and continued down the path where I saw the pod crash.

* * *

The sun was up by the time we reached the ridge near the lake. "We should split up, cover more ground." I voted. "Clarke, come with me. Finn, check down there."

Finn nodded, sarcastically saluted and took off towards the bottom of the ridge. Clarke cracked a small smile and we continued forward.

"Anything I need to know about?" I asked, lightly nudging her arm.

Clarke shook her head. "Not now." she answered, though she was still smiling. I shrugged it off.

About half a mile later, we came across the crashed pod. I ran to the side and opened the door, and there was a girl in a space suit bleeding from a gash on her forehead. "Oh, my God." I sighed.

"Hi." she replied. "I made it?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I offered her my hand and helped her out. She took off her suit and stood a few inches from her pod, taking a deep breath and exhaling. A light sprinkle started to come down.

"I dreamed it would smell like this." she sighed, holding out her hands. "Is this rain?"

Clarke nodded. "Welcome home." she greeted.

Finn ran up the ridge and called out to the girl, "Raven!"

The girl in question, Raven, beamed and ran up to Finn, embracing him. "I knew you couldn't be dead."

"Guess they knew each other before huh?" I guessed, standing next to my sister. When Raven leaned up and kissed Finn, my eyes widened. "Guess they really knew each other." I restated, glancing over to Clarke, who looked a bit more than just surprised.

Raven put her hand to her head and stumbled. Finn led her to a rock and helped her sit, running up to us. Clarke dug out a cloth from her pack and handed it to him, not making eye contact. "I'm sorry." Finn whispered to her.

"Let's not talk about this." Clarke replied, shoving past him.

"She needs to put pressure on her wound." I advised, following Clarke. "Sis, I'm missing something here." I whispered, glancing back at Finn. "Wanna clue me in?"

"We don't need to talk about it." she whispered back. I blinked in confusion, adjusting my pack and walking up to Raven, checking on her head wound.

Finn pressed the cloth to her forehead. "Raven this is Rayleigh and Clarke." he introduced, pointing to us. "They were on the drop ship, too."

Raven looked up at us, "Rayleigh and Clarke?" she repeated, standing up. "This was all because of your mom."

"Our mom?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow, glancing at Clarke before turning my attention back to Raven.

"This was all her plan." she elaborated. "We were trying to come down here together. If we waited..." she trailed off. "oh, my God. We couldn't wait because the council was voting whether to kill 300 people to save air."

"When?" Clarke asked.

"Today." Raven answered, rushing back to her pod. "We have to tell them you're alive." she checked inside. "The radio's gone." she noted. "It must've gotten loose during reentry. I should've strapped it to the A-strut. Stupid!" she punched the open door.

"No, no, this is my fault." I rebuked, sighing heavily. "Someone got here before us. We have to find him."

Before I turned to leave, Raven grabbed my arm. "Wait. Your mom told me to give you this." she handed me a small black bag. "She said you would need this down here."

I opened the bag and gasped, inside were medical appliances; a few stitching needles, thread, syringes, localized anesthetic, along with my blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. "Thank you mom." I muttered, shoving the bag into my backpack. "Now come on, let's find that radio."

* * *

I went back down the trail towards camp and sure enough, a few feet ahead, Bellamy was walking as if he had no cares in the world. I ran to catch up to him. "Bellamy! Hey!" I called, keeping pace. "Where is it?"

"Hey, Princess." he greeted, casually. "Just taking a walk in the woods?"

I rolled my eyes and stood in front of him. "Cut the bullshit Blake, I know what you did." I accused. "They're getting ready to kill three hundred people to save oxygen. And I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people. Your people." I jabbed him in the chest.

Raven, Clarke, and Finn caught up with us, and Finn shoved Bellamy back. "Where's the radio?" he demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bellamy defended/

"Bellamy Blake?" Raven questioned. "They're looking everywhere for you."

"Shut up." he snapped.

"Looking for him why?" Clarke asked.

"He shot Chancellor Jaha." Raven answered, glaring at Bellamy.

Bellamy looked away. "You did what?" I quipped, then it hit me. "That's why you took the wristbands. That's why you needed everyone to think we're dead down here." I shook my head.

"All that "whatever the hell we want" crap, you just care about saving your own ass." Finn scoffed.

Bellamy walked away, with Raven charging after him. "Hey! Shooter!" she called, blocking his path. "Where's my radio?"

"I should've killed you when I had the chance." Bellamy stated through gritted teeth.

"Really? Well, I'm right here." Raven challenged, blocking his punch and held a knife to his neck. "Where's my radio?"

"Okay, stop it." I cut in, pulling Bellamy away from Raven.

"Jaha deserved to die." Bellamy defended. "You all know that."

"Yeah, he's not my favorite person, either." Raven scoffed. "But he isn't dead."

Bellamy and I looked back at her. "What?" we pressed.

Raven shook her head. "You're a lousy shot."

I turned to Bellamy, grabbing his arm to get him to look me in the eyes. "Bellamy, don't you see what this means? You're not a murderer." I gave him a small smile. "You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are." I reached down and took his hand. "And you can do it again, by protecting 300 of your people." he looked down and met my eyes. "Where's the radio?" I asked.

Bellamy sighed, pulling his hand out of mine. "It's too late." he answered. "I tossed it in the river."

I licked my lips and backed a step away, "Finn!" I called, turning to face him. "You and Clarke get back to camp, lead them to the river. We're finding that radio."

"What should we tell them?" Finn asked.

"Everything." I answered. "Raven and I will meet you there." she and I, along with Bellamy, headed towards the river.

* * *

I stood next to Bellamy who was sitting by the river's edge, watching as everyone was wading through the water, searching for the radio. I glanced down at him, "You could've told me the truth." I noted, crossing my arms over my chest. "I would've understood your reasons."

"If you're going for a pity talk, save your breath Princess." Bellamy replied, not looking at me.

I shook my head, "Whatever happened to that Cadet who always did everything by the book?" I asked, draping my ponytail over my shoulder. "Who would go out of his way to make sure a med intern would get to the mess hall on time for dinner, and then walk her back to her quarters before curfew." a smile spread across my lips. "I found him great company. Hell, I miss him."

Bellamy scoffed. "His mother got floated and his sister was locked up." he answered, emotionless. "On top of loosing his family, he lost his job as a Cadet and was demoted to a janitor." he turned his head and looked at me. "Guess we're both different people than we were over a year ago, huh Princess?"

I met his eyes. "Don't use that tone, my life wasn't exactly easy." I admitted. "My father was the one who initially found the flaw in the oxygen system. He was going to tell everyone, despite the council's wishes." I reached for the ring, twisting the chain around my finger. "My mother turned him in, and my sister and I were arrested as accomplices and thrown into solitary. My first love made me hate him so I wouldn't hate the only family I had left."

"Guess love isn't all it's cracked up to be." Bellamy smirked. "You regret ever telling him?"

"I wasn't the one who told him." I corrected. "Clarke did. I was working in the med bay." I pursed my lips together. "Honestly, I wanted to talk to you about it. Ask for your advice." I looked down, my hair blowing behind me. "I would've trusted you with the secret. Bellamy, I needed to talk to you."

Bellamy scoffed and got to his feet. "Well, you should've thought about that before choosing the Prince over me." he snapped.

"That is not what happened." I rebuked. He shook his head and looked away. "Bellamy, I never meant to hurt you." I looked down at my feet. "The truth is, I-"

I was cut off when Jones yelled. "I found it!" meaning he located the radio. Bellamy headed in that direction, shrugging me off.

"Truth is I was scared to take a chance on you." I finished my earlier statement, sighing heavily. I ran after him and joined the group.

"Can you fix it?" Finn asked.

Raven checked over the radio. "Maybe." she answered. "But it'll take half a day just to dry out the components to see what's broken."

"Like I said, it's too late." Bellamy muttered.

Clarke shoved him back. "Do you have any idea what you did?" she yelled. "Do you even care?"

"You asked me to help." Bellamy reminded. "I helped."

"300 innocent people are going to die today because of you." Clarke accused.

I stepped in between them. "Okay, knock it off." I ordered. "We don't have time to throw blame and argue about all this."

"Hold up." Raven halted, gripping my shoulder. "We don't have to talk to The Ark. We just have to let them know we're down here, right?" she questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?" I raised an eyebrow.

A grin spread across her face. "I have a plan." she slapped my shoulder blade. "We need to get back to my pod, hurry. We're wasting time." Raven ran back up the trail to her crash site, with the rest of us following.

* * *

Raven's idea was to make homemade flares and launch them into the atmosphere. Half the group went back to camp while the rest stayed at Raven's crash site, taking her pod apart.

"We need to launch those flares ASAP if we have any hope of saving those people!" Raven yelled, taking charge. "Finn, get that control panel to camp. You, pull out those firing circuits in one piece or they won't work."

I cracked a smile, "I like her." I noted, chuckling.

"Ray. Clarke." she called, walking over to us, handing us each a wrench. "Work these bolts here gently." she pointed to a structure holding the rockets in place. "Careful though, rocket fuel likes to go boom." she chuckled. "We're going to need power to fire."

"They're tying in the batteries on the drop ship." I informed. "Should be ready when we get there."

"Great." Raven nodded. "So, what's the problem?"

"Nothing." I answered. "This plan is great."

"I was actually talking to your sister." Raven chuckled, looking at Clarke.

I glanced at my sister, quirking an eyebrow. "I just-" Clarke sighed. "Well, if we get the rockets to launch, will they see them from The Ark?

Raven grinned. "Like the good book says, it's all about burn time and cloud cover." she informed, helping us unscrew the bolts. "But I know your mom will be watching." she added. "I've never seen anyone love someone the way she loves the two of you. You know that, right?"

"We did." Clarke muttered, before leaving us to cut off the parachute.

Raven looked at me in confusion. "It's complicated." I defended. "Something for another day." I helped her finish unscrewing the bolts.

* * *

It was nightfall when we arrived back at camp and got the flares nearly completed. People set the rockets on makeshift ramps while the rest of us stood a good few feet away. Finn fired up the control panel, waiting for Raven's command.

"Rayleigh!" Raven called. "Give me a hand with this last one!"

I nodded and ran to the last ramp, helping her set the rocket at an upward angle. I glanced over at her, "It's Raven Reyes, right?" I asked. "Youngest Zero-G mechanic in over fifty years."

"The one and only." Raven boasted. "You're famous too." she added. "Rayleigh Griffin, youngest person accepted into the med bay intern program. They say the only person more skilled than you is your mom."

"No argument there." I agreed, wiping my hands on my pants. "I just hope we're not too late."

"Well then, let's launch these babies." Raven voted, slapping my hand in a high-five.

"Okay everyone, back away from the rockets!" I called, motioning to the crowd. "Let's avoid injuries for now, okay." I stepped into the crowd, standing next to Clarke.

The rockets ignited and shot off into the sky like fireworks from the old days. Clarke and I exchanged a look and a smile. She laid her head on m shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her neck and kissed her temple.

"Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'd like to think so." I answered, laying my cheek on top of her head. I felt someone caress my other hand and glanced over to see Bellamy standing next to me. I smiled and interlaced my fingers with his, caressing his knuckles.

"You think they can see it from up there?" Bellamy asked.

"I don't know." I admitted, "I hope so." I squeezed his hand and smiled, looking back at the flares.

Bellamy squeezed my hand, moving closer where our arms touched. "I would've kept your secret, Rayleigh." he whispered in my ear. I blinked and looked up at him. "What?" he asked.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "Nothing." I replied. "It's just, that's the first time you've called me by my name since we landed." I noted, smiling.

Bellamy chuckled and nudged my arm before turning back to watch the flares. I, however, continued to watch him, my heart fluttering in my chest.


	7. His Sister's Keeper

**His Sister's Keeper**

* * *

After the excitement of the flares died down, everyone returned to their tents, me and Clarke included. "You really think they saw the flares?" she asked, laying in her bed.

I pulled my knees up to my chest. "I'm sure they did." I assured, pulling the blanket up to her chest. "We did what we could. Now, all we can do is wait." I brushed her hair out of her face. "Just try and get some rest, little sister."

Clarke smiled and rolled onto her side. "You remember you're only older by like a minute right?" she questioned.

I shrugged. "Still, I came into the world before you did." I reminded. "And I promised mom I'd look out for you. Get some sleep."

Clarke sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine. Night." she whispered. I smiled and watched as she drifted off, her breathing even and steady. I laid my head on my knees and listened to the rustling just outside my tent.

Torchlight approached and the flap opened. I turned and saw Bellamy leaning down. "You're still up?" he questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah." I ducked out and stood facing him. "Subconsciously knowing that hundreds of people might be dying on The Ark makes it pretty hard to sleep." I brushed my hair out of my face. "Clarke's out like a light though."

"Raven's flares will work." Bellamy assured.

I sighed, "Her radio would've worked better." I noted.

Bellamy looked down for a split second before refocusing on me. "Have you seen Octavia?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No." I answered. "Look, it's Octavia. She's probably chasing butterflies-"

"Ray, I've checked the camp." Bellamy cut me off. "She's not here."

"Okay." I muttered. "I'll help you find her." I offered, walking with him. "Let's check again. You go to the drop ship, I'll check the rest of the tents."

"Thanks." he told me.

"No need to thank me." I replied, heading to another section of camp.

* * *

A few hours passed and Octavia still wasn't anywhere to be found. "Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon." Bellamy called, standing by the various weapons everyone had made. "My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up." he ordered. "We're not coming back without her."

Clarke found me in the crowd. "What happened?" she whispered.

"Bellamy told me that Octavia followed him when he left the other day and took Raven's radio." I replied. "She hasn't come back yet. He's gonna lead a small search and rescue party."

A few people grabbed some weapons, including Jasper. "Hey, Jasper, you don't have to do this." Clarke advised. "You haven't left camp since we brought you back."

"Clarke, I need to do this." Jasper replied, still visibly shaky.

"We do need all the people we can get." I added, shrugging.

"We need a tracker." Bellamy added, joining us. "Hey Finn. Get out here." he yelled. After another couple minutes, and a few more people arming up, Bellamy called out to Finn again. "Finn, we're leaving."

I pushed through the crowd and kept pace with Bellamy, my bow in hand and arrows ready. "We're gonna find her, okay?" I reassured, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine. Octavia's a smart girl."

"Guys, guys." Myles called. "Look up there."

Everyone looked up at the sky, gaping. "They didn't work." Raven noted, stepping up to the bonfire. "They didn't see the flares."

"A meteor shower tells you that?" Bellamy asked.

I shook my head. "It's not a meteor shower Bellamy." I corrected. "It's a funeral. Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from The Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side."

"They didn't get our message." Clarke sighed, looking defeated.

"This is all because of you!" Raven shouted, lunging towards Bellamy. Finn held her back.

"I helped you find the radio." Bellamy defended.

"Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!" Raven added.

"Yeah, he knows." I said, putting myself in between her and Bellamy.

"Now has to live with it." Clarke added.

Bellamy sighed. "All I know is that my sister is out there and I'm gonna find her." he stated. "All of you coming, move out!" he ordered.

I went to follow, but was held back by one of the younger girls, Fox. "Rayleigh, here." she handed me a knife in a holster. "I just finished it. Take it with you."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It looks like you worked really hard on it."

"Take it. I insist." Fox urged. "A thank you, for a few years ago when you helped me." she smiled and ran back into camp.

I attached the holster to my pants and sighed. "Rayleigh!" Bellamy called.

"Coming!" I yelled back, running to catch up. I stood by Bellamy near the wall.

"I want you to stick close to me." Bellamy told me. "If Octavia's hurt, she'll need medical attention. I can't risk you getting hurt."

I blinked, my mind comprehending what he just said. "Okay, I won't leave your side." I promised. I kept pace with him as the search party left the campsite.

* * *

Roughly an hour into the search, we came to an old ravine, or what was left of one. A ways down there was cloth caught on a bush. "Is that Octavia's?" someone asked.

"Rope." Bellamy ordered. Roma dug some rope from her backpack and tied it to a tree.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked as Bellamy gripped the rope tightly.

"We need the rope to get back up." he answered, taking a flashlight and carefully scaling down to the bush. "It's hers." he called back up to us. "I'm going all the way down."

Jasper followed Bellamy down to the bottom, with me and Finn not far behind. Bellamy held the flashlight over a rock, with what appeared to have blood on it. "Someone else was here." he muttered..

"The prints are deeper going that way." Finn noted, holding the torch over the footprints in the mud. "He was carrying her."

"If they took her, she's alive." Jasper said, making us look at him. "Like when they took me."

* * *

The rest of the search party joined us and we trekked through the ravine. As we neared the forest, I heard a crunching sound under my feet, making me stop.

"Ray?" Finn asked.

I licked my lips. "Yeah, pretty sure I'm gonna regret this." I muttered. "Finn, let me see that torch." I took it and knelt near the ground, using the flame to get a closer look. And sure enough, there were bone shards in my newest footprint, from an arm or leg of whatever I stepped on.

"Bones." Finn noted.

Jasper gulped. "They could be animal bones." he guessed.

I uncovered the head of the poor creature and shook my head. "Sorry Jasper but this," I held the skull in the palm of my left hand. "this is human." I informed.

Everyone else jumped back, a couple even screamed. "That's so creepy." Roma shivered.

I nodded in agreement and tossed the skull off to the side. When we took a couple more steps, more skeletons appeared; this time pinned to trees by spears. "That's a warning if I've ever seen one." I pointed out, handing Finn the torch.

"I don't speak Grounder," Finn gasped. "but I'm pretty sure this means keep out."

I nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here." some of the others voted.

"Go back if you want." Bellamy encouraged, looking dead ahead. "My sister, my responsibility." he went on down the trail.

"I'd walk into hell to find her." Jasper added, following Bellamy.

"I think we just did." Finn muttered.

He looked over at me and I nodded, and we followed Jasper and Bellamy. I glanced around the forest. "I may have only seen a couple of horror flicks back on The Ark, but I'm pretty sure that this is the part of the movie where one of us ends up dead."

"Way to lighten the mood." Finn chuckled, nudging my shoulder.

"Just saying." I defended.

* * *

By the time the sun rose, we were miles into the forest; Grounder territory. Finn checked the nearby plants, shaking his head. "I got nothing." he admitted. "We lost the trail."

"Keep looking." Bellamy ordered. Everyone spread out a little ways, scouring the area. I stayed near Bellamy, keeping a close eye on him.

Finn sighed heavily. "Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister." he informed. "We should backtrack-"

"I'm not going back." Bellamy cut off.

I grabbed his arm. "Hey, it's gonna be okay." I assured. "We'll find Octavia. If she's half the badass you are, I'm sure she's fine."

"Hey, where's John?" Roma asked.

"I just saw him a second ago." Jasper noted.

We all looked around, and I noticed the large gaps in between the trees. "Spread out." Bellamy ordered. "He couldn't have gotten that far."

I retraced my steps and kept my back close to Bellamy's. "I have a real bad feeling about this." I whispered to him.

Just then, a body fell from the trees, landing right in the middle of our search party. The body was John Mbege. I knelt down close and saw a clean gash across his throat, lowering my head. "Damnit." I cursed.

"They use the trees." Finn muttered, looking up.

"We shouldn't have crossed the boundary." Diggs panted.

"Now can we go back?" Roma asked.

Jasper started breathing heavily, his eyes fixated in one direction. "There." he whispered. There was a grounder a good yard away or so.

"Another one." Diggs pointed out, at our right another two yards out.

"We should run." Monroe suggested.

I took an arrow from my pack and held it in my bowstring, drawing back and aiming for the grounder Diggs pointed out. "Rayleigh, what are you doing?" Jasper asked, sharply.

"They're trying to scare us." I answered. "If I strike one of them,it just might catch them off guard long enough for us to get a head start."

"Good plan Princess Commander." Monroe praised.

"Ray." Bellamy whispered, inching closer to me. "There's another, three yards out at your six."

"Got it." I confirmed, adjusting my stance. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled, my body visibly relaxed. I opened my eyes, spun around, and released the arrow. It hit the Grounder full force in the abdomen. "Now we run." I stated.

* * *

Bellamy grabbed my hand and we all took off in the direction we didn't see any Grounders. My adrenaline was pumping throughout my body, and I had to admit, the rush felt nice. It was nothing I had ever experienced before. I continued keeping up with Bellamy as we ran through the forest.

I stopped to catch my breath, bracing my hands on my knees. "Rayleigh, are you alright?" Bellamy asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." I answered. "Just a little winded."

Bellamy pulled a canteen from his pack, handing it to me. "Here drink." he ordered. I took it and smiled in gratitude, taking a couple gulps.

I handed it back to him. "Thanks." I wiped the water from my chin.

"C'mon." he took my hand and we took off once more.

Finn and the others caught up to us. "What are we gonna do?" he asked. "They keep heading us off."

"Just keep running." I answered.

"I can't run much longer!" Jasper panted.

"I'm not stopping for him!" Diggs exclaimed, taking off in another direction.

"I'm sick of running anyway." Bellamy halted, and I nearly lost my footing.

"Diggs, where are you?" Roma called, looking around. She took off in search of him.

"Roma!" I yelled. "Wait!" I rolled my eyes and took off after her with the others on my heels.

I skidded to a stop when I saw Diggs' body impaled on a booby trap of some kind. "Damnit!" I cursed, kicking the moss covered tree.

"They were leading us here." Jasper noted. "It's the only direction we could run in."

"Where'd they go?" Monroe asked.

There was a scream in the distance. "After Roma." Bellamy answered, running towards the source of the scream.

"I'm really beginning to hate these people." Monroe huffed.

Not far ahead there was a body pressed against a tree. "It's her." Finn muttered. We ran up to the tree and found Roma pinned to it by a spear in the chest. I pressed my fingers to her neck and felt no pulse.

"They're playing with us." Monroe clenched her weapon tightly.

Bellamy closed Roma's eyelids. "She only came because of me." his shoulders sank.

I placed my hand on his cheek, "Bellamy, this isn't your fault." I whispered, caressing his cheekbone with my thumb. "Don't blame yourself."

"They can kill us whenever they want." Finn pointed out.

"Then they should get it over with!" Jasper yelled. "Come on! We know you're out there!"

"Jasper shut the hell up!" I snapped. Finn grabbed him by the arm and clamped his hand over Jasper's mouth.

A horn sounded in the distance and suddenly all the Grounders took off. "They're leaving." Bellamy muttered.

"That horn." Jasper gulped. "What does it mean?"

"Acid fog." Finn answered, pulling out a portion of a parachute from his bag.

"We have to run." Monroe informed.

Finn shook his head. "There's no time." he tossed up the cloth and we all scooted close underneath it.

* * *

"Nice plan Finn." I complemented, laying on my stomach in between him and Bellamy.

"How long are we supposed to wait?" Jasper asked in a hushed whisper.

Monroe rolled her eyes. "Will this even work?"

"We'll find out." Finn noted.

"No, we won't." Bellamy rebuked, tossing the cloth off us. "There's no fog." he announced.

"Maybe it was a false alarm." Jasper chuckled dryly.

I heard a rustling and reached for my bow which was in my pack. "They're coming back." I whispered, motioning in the direction I heard the sound.

"I think he's alone." Jasper mumbled.

"Now can we run?" Monroe asked.

"He doesn't see us." Bellamy noted. "I'm going after him.

"And what?" Finn questioned. "Kill him?"

"No. Catch him." Bellamy corrected. "Make him tell me where Octavia is, then kill him."

"How do we know he's not leading us to another trap?" Jasper pondered.

"We don't." Finn stated. The two took off after Bellamy.

"Why do men always charge head first into danger?" Monroe huffed, shaking her head.

I shrugged. "They think it's bravery; but really, it's a front for reckless stupidity." I chuckled. "We women are the smarter gender of the species. They'd be dead without us."

"That's no joke." Monroe agreed as we caught up the boys.

* * *

We followed the Grounder to a cave and waited until he entered before we moved in closer. As we carefully made our way inside and heard the sound of jangling chains. We turned the corner and Bellamy rushed to Octavia, who was chained to the wall and the Grounder was on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

"Monroe, watch the entrance." I whispered. She nodded and went back the way we came.

Bellamy unlocked Octavia's restraints and she launched herself into his arms. "It's okay." Bellamy soothed, embracing her tightly. "You're okay."

"How did you find me?" Octavia asked when she pulled away. She saw Jasper and went to hug him next.

"Followed him." I motioned to the Grounder on the cave floor. I stepped closer to her, noting a gash on her forehead and some dried blood. I met eyes with Bellamy. "We should go, now." I suggested. "Before he wakes up."

Bellamy looked at the Grounder, his eyes narrowing. "He's not gonna wake up." he grabbed a spear that rested by the wall.

"Bellamy, stop." Octavia halted. "He didn't hurt me. Let's just go."

"They started this." Bellamy reminded. "Finn, move." he ordered.

Finn was kneeling by the Grounder, examining something. He held up a horn, "Foghorn." he noted.

Suddenly the Grounder woke up and stabbed Finn in the side. He took the spear from Bellamy and had him pinned to the floor, the tip inches from his throat.

"Stop!" Octavia screamed. "That's my brother!" she bashed the Grounder over the head with a rock, knocking him out cold.

I knelt next to Finn and quickly assessed the damage. The knife was in between his sixth and seventh rib. Jasper reached for it and I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch it." I ordered.

"What, we just leave it in?" he asked.

"Yes." I answered, using the knife Fox gave me to cut away a section of my shirt. "If we rip it out, we could end up damaging his heart and he'll bleed out before we get out of this cave." I tied the strip of cloth around the knife, holding it in place. "Head back to camp, and make sure my sister's ready."

Jasper stood up and backed away. I flipped my hair back, "Jasper go! Now!" I yelled.

"Yes ma'am." He muttered, before taking Octavia and running out of the cave.

I looked down at Finn and caressed his forehead, "Listen to me Finn, stay with us okay." I whispered. Bellamy knelt down on the other side of Finn. "We have to get him back to camp ASAP." I helped him lift Finn off the ground and grabbed the gear he dropped.

We ran out of the cave and bolted back towards camp.

* * *

"Clarke!" I heard Jasper scream as we neared the newly built gate. "Get Clarke now."

I faintly saw her run through the crowd and meet Jasper at the gate. "I'm here. What's up?"

"It's Finn." I answered, skidding to a halt. "Clarke it's bad."

Bellamy entered camp after me, Finn still in his arms. Clarke's jaw dropped and she gripped my arm. "Oh, my God." she gasped.

"He's still alive." I assured. "Get him in the drop ship now." I told Bellamy, who nodded.

"Hey!" Raven called, running up to us. "Can you save him?"

I shook my head. "Not us." I answered. "I need to talk to my mother."

"There's still no radio." Raven informed.

"Then fix it!" I yelled. "Finn will die if you don't." I shoved past the crowd and entered the drop ship.

Bellamy grabbed my arm as I entered. "Rayleigh, you can do this." he whispered.

I shook my head, "Not alone." I admitted. "I need my mother's help."

He placed his hands on my shoulders. "I wasn't asking." he corrected. "I believe you can do this." he kissed the center of my forehead, caressing my collarbones.

I looked up into his deep, brown eyes and nodded. A gust of wind blew inside and I peeked out, seeing the sky get gray. "What's happening?" I asked.

"A storm's coming." Bellamy answered.

I took one more look outside before glancing over my shoulder at Finn, who was laying on a metal table with Clarke and Raven on either side of him. "Storm or no storm, Finn's not dying." I promised myself. "Not on my watch."


	8. Contents Under Pressure

**Contents Under Pressure**

* * *

The storm hit hard and it hit fast. Everyone was hurrying to secure the camp, while Clarke and I were in the drop ship preparing to help Finn and Raven was trying to get a hold of The Ark. Clarke and I knew we would need our mother's help if we had any hope of saving Finn's life.

"This is Raven Reyes calling Ark Station. Please come in." Raven hailed. "Can anyone hear me?"

"You sure you have the right frequency?" Monroe asked, leaning

"Yeah, I'm sure." Raven snapped.

"Raven, you can do this." Clarke encouraged.

Raven nodded, taking a deep breath. "Calling Ark Station." she hailed again. "Ark station, please come in. I'm on the ground with the 100. We need you."

Gusts of damp air blew into the ship as I stood at the front of the ramp, letting rainwater hit my face. It tore me up inside just waiting for my mother to come over the radio.

"Who is this?" a static-laced voice asked over the radio. "Please identify yourself."

"This is Raven Reyes. I'm from Mecha Station. I'm transmitting from the ground." Raven disclosed, a smile crossing her lips. "The 100 are alive. Please, you need to get Dr. Abby Griffin. Now."

I pushed through the crowd, leaning against the radio table. Raven handed me the second head-set she put together and I put it on, adjusting the mouthpiece slightly. Soon, my mother's voice came over the system.

"Raven, are you there?" she asked, her voice still a bit fuzzy.

"Mom?" I questioned, my voice cracking. "Mom, it's me."

"Rayleigh?" she gasped.

I instinctively nodded. "Mom, Clarke and I need your help." I informed. "One of our people was stabbed by a grounder."

"Rayleigh." Jaha's voice came through next. "Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?"

Clarke took the headset from Raven. "Yes, Chancellor." she answered. "The earth is survivable. We're not alone."

"Mom, one of our people was wounded. He's dying." I cut in. "The knife's still in his chest." I faintly heard her say something on the other end but couldn't make it out.

"Rayleigh, is my son with you?" Jaha asked.

I bit my lip, dreading the answer I had to give. "I'm so sorry." I apologized, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Wells is...Wells is dead." A sting of pain hit my heart as soon as I uttered that statement aloud.

The other end went silent for a few seconds, and I could barely make out what my mother said next. "Raven, what's wrong?" I asked, looking down at her.

"It's not the radio." Raven defended. "It's the storm."

Thunder crashed just outside the ship. "Rayleigh, you copy?" mom asked.

"I'm here." I answered. "We're here." Clarke leaned in closer.

"Listen girls, we need to hurry." mom ordered. "A hurricane is right on top of you."

"We're ready when you are." Clarke stated, glancing at me. I nodded in agreement.

I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, getting ready for the major procedure ahead of me. Octavia burst into the ship, carrying two large tin cans. "Monty's moonshine?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

"Pretty sure no germ can survive it." Octavia joked. She set the cans down by the rest.

More thunder crashed outside and the wind howled. I bit my lip, shaking my head. "The storm's getting worse." I noted. "Monroe, close the doors."

"We still have people out there." she replied.

"Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet." Octavia added. "Neither is Bellamy."

"It's all right." I assured. "They'll find somewhere to ride it out." I took her hand. "Bellamy's gonna be fine. Selfish ass or not, he looks out for us."

Octavia cracked a smile and poured two shots of the moonshine, handing me on. "To take the edge off." she offered. "Your eyes scream panic."

I took the cup, "Screw ancient laws." I scoffed, downing the shot. I took the other one and handed it to Clarke, who downed it without hesitation.

"One suture needle." Raven insisted, handing the Clarke the needle.

I dug out the thread from the med kit my mom sent down with Raven, setting it off to the side. Along with the needle and thread, I laid out strips of cloth for post-operation bandages.

"Tell me you can do this." Raven whispered, standing right beside me.

I turned to face her, "No one's dying on my watch." I promised.

"Hey, they're back." Fox called.

My head whipped around and I saw Bellamy, Miller, and Drew enter the ship with the Grounder that took Octavia. He was unconscious, bloody, and blindfolded.

"What the hell are you doing?" Octavia asked, looking between her brother and the Grounder.

"It's time to get some answers." Bellamy answered.

"Oh, you mean revenge?" Octavia questioned.

"I mean intel." he corrected. "Get him upstairs." Miller and Drew nodded and carried the Grounder to the top level of the ship.

I moved the mouthpiece away so I could talk to Bellamy and not have it broadcast ed up on The Ark. "Bellamy, Octavia's right." I agreed.

"Ray, honey, we're ready." my mom said from the medical station. "Can you hear me?"

I licked my lips. "This is not who we are." I grabbed his arm. "This isn't who you are."

"It is now." Bellamy stated, taking my hand in his own. "Right now, you just focus on saving Finn. You're the only one who can."

"No pressure." I muttered, glancing at the exam table.

"Hey." Bellamy cupped my cheek, making me look him directly in the eye. His index finger caressed the backside of my left ear. "You can do this, Rayleigh." he encouraged, kissing the center of my forehead.

I pulled away and looked up, nodding my head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." I stepped back, pulled the lever that closed the doors and proceeded to the exam table. "Mom." I hailed, moving the mouthpiece into place, "I'm here."

"Okay, now describe the injury to me." mom sighed.

* * *

I paced around to the side where the knife was embedded in Finn's chest. "The blade's at a sharp upward angle, between the sixth and seventh ribs." I informed. "As for depth, I'm not so sure. It was dark in the cave so I couldn't see how long it was before Finn was stabbed."

"That's all right, sweetie." mom soothed. "Just don't remove the knife yet. Both of you, sterilize your hands before we move on."

Clarke and I dumped part of a moonshine container, rubbing the liquid over our hands. "Can you see any fluid?" mom asked.

A couple of guys bumped into each other and it nearly broke into a fight. "Clear the room! Everyone, upstairs!" Raven ordered. "Now! Let's go!" no one asked questions and proceeded to the second level of the drop ship.

"He feels a little warm." Clarke noted, feeling Finn's forehead.

"That's all right." mom replied. "Fever sometimes accompanies trauma. Now, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound."

I carefully removed the cloth strip from the knife, "No." I answered.

"Pleural membrane's intact. That's good." mom stated. "Actually, really good. He got lucky."

"Hear that?" Raven whispered, leaning over Finn. "You're lucky."

"Now what mom?" I asked.

"Now, you're gonna remove the knife." mom answered. "Get a firm grip on the handle." I gripped the hilt tightly. "You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left very slightly to the left as it exits the rib cage."

"How very slightly?" I clarified. There was a rough answer. "Mom? You dropped out."

"Rayleigh, 3 millimeters." mom answered finally. "Got it?"

"Yeah. Three millimeters." I repeated. "Here goes."

"Steady hand, Rayleigh." mom reminded. "You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once that knife is out, the hard part is over."

I nodded. "All right. Extracting now." I stated, gripping the hilt.

Finn's body jolted. "He's waking up." Clarke gasped.

"Hold him still." I yelled, keeping a firm grasp on the knife.

"Finn." Clarke soothed, running her fingers through his hair. "Finn, Ray's gonna get that knife out of you, ok?"

"Good plan." Finn muttered, rolling his head to look at me. "Guess my life's in your hands Princess Commander."

I cracked a smile and chuckled. "Finn, you can't move." I told him. "You got it?" he nodded. "Ok. Here it goes."

"Nice and slow, Rayleigh sweetie." mom coached. "You can do this." I nodded and gently started pulling the knife free, which caused Finn to tense up.

"Finn, do not move." Clarke ordered, holding his lower body still. "She's almost got it."

I clenched my teeth together and felt the knife being pulled free. With one last pull, the knife was yanked from Finn's side, just as a huge gust of wind blew something into the ship. I slid in one direction while Finn, Clarke, and Raven went the opposite. I grunted as I hit the ground.

"Rayleigh. Clarke." mom gasped. "Girls, are you alright?"

"It's out." Raven sighed in relief.

"Rayleigh did it." Clarke added, smiling at me.

I looked at the bloody knife still in my hand, a smile crossing my lips. "I can't believe I just did that."

"Great job honey." mom praised. "Now, clean the wound."

"Yeah." I muttered. "And, thanks to your unwavering hope in us, I have the necessary tools to stitch it up."

Mom sighed. "I knew you and your sister were strong enough to survive." she stated. "I never lost hope." her voice cracked. "Your father would be proud."

Clarke looked down and I bit my lip. "Thanks for not giving up on us." I told her. "I'm disinfecting the wound now."

"Do you have anything to cover it?" mom asked.

"We'll make do, like always." Clarke answered, getting a bandage ready.

After disinfecting the wound, I stitched it up with relative ease.

"Should he be this pale?" Raven asked, brushing the backs of her fingers over his cheek. "Warm, too."

"He's lost a lot of blood, Raven." I informed.

"But if your boyfriend's anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure he'll be fine." mom added, a light chuckle escaping her.

Clarke felt Finn's chest. "Wait, mom, Raven's right." she noted. "He's feverish, and his breathing's uneven." she looked across the table at me. "Check his heart beat."

I nodded and grabbed my stethoscope, sliding the radio headset around my neck and replacing it with the ear pieces. I pressed the bell to Finn's chest, hearing a fluttering heartbeat. I switched the places of my stethoscope and the headset, "Mom, his heart rate is above normal."

"That's probably the shock of the events." she consoled. "You need to give him some time to recover. Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think I think he might just be out of the woods."

"Well, down here, there's nothing but woods." Clarke scoffed, taking the headset off and rubbing her temples.

I sighed, resting my elbows on the exam table. "I'm gonna tell Bellamy the news." I leaned off the table, removing the headset. I put my hand on Clarke's shoulder as I passed her. "Stay with Finn. I'll be on the third level if you need me."

She nodded and patted my hand before I climbed up the ladder to the top level of the ship.

* * *

I unlatched the entrance and saw Miller and Drew staring down at me. I cleared my throat to get Bellamy's attention.

"Let her through." Bellamy motioned and I lifted myself up onto the level.

I walked up to Bellamy, never taking my eyes off the Grounder. He had dark skin, equally dark eyes and his face was covered in cuts and bruises. His arms were strung up on either side of him and his legs were chained to the floor. Those dark eyes of his were fixed in a glare, directed towards Bellamy. "Well, if he didn't hate us before, he does now." I muttered.

"Who cares?" Bellamy scoffed, returning the Grounder's glare with his own. When he turned to me, his eyes softened. He grabbed my arm and walked me to the opposite side from the prisoner. "How's Finn?"

"Alive." I sighed, glancing back at the Grounder. "His people will care. How long until they figure out where he is?" I questioned. "And what happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him? They will, Bellamy."

"Relax, Princess." Bellamy cut me off. "No one saw us take him." he assured. "He was chained up in that cave, where we left him, the entire time, and thanks to the storm, we didn't see a soul on the way back." he showed me this old, leather journal and flipped to a page with a sketch of the camp, on the one next to it were tally marks. "In case you missed it, his people are already killing us. How many more of our people need to die until you realize we're fighting a war?"

"We're not soldiers, Bellamy. We're just a bunch of kids." I pointed out. "Look at him." I motioned to the Grounder. "We can't win."

"You're right. We can't." he agreed, making me raise an eyebrow. "If we don't fight."

I opened my mouth to say something, but was cut off when Clarke came up through the latch, screaming my name. "Ray, he's seizing." she gasped. "Hurry."

"Coming." I rushed past Bellamy and followed my sister.

* * *

I jumped down the ladder and ran to Finn, who's body was jerking. "He was fine, then..." Raven trailed off, running her hands over her hair.

Clarke and I stood on either side, trying to hold him still. "Get my mother on the radio now." I ordered. "Raven, now!"

"The radio's dead!" Raven quipped. "Interference from the storm." she leaned against the table, her eyes pleading. "Please don't let him die."

Clarke and I exchanged a glance, nodding. Finn's seizing suddenly stopped and white, foaming substance began leaking from his mouth. "Clarke quick, help me get him on his side." I ordered.

"He's burning up." Clarke noted, the palm of her hand on his forehead.

"Fluid in his lungs." Raven repeated. "Does that mean the knife hit something?"

I shook my head. "This isn't blood. It's something else." I took a deep breath and exhaled, holding my hand on his neck. "Wait, shortness of breath, fever, seizing." I muttered. "It's poison."

"You sterilized everything." Raven reminded. "I watched you do it."

My eyes instantly wandered to the knife. "Not everything." I rebuked. "Damn these Grounders." I cursed, grabbing the knife. I turned to Clarke, "Stay here."

"Rayleigh." she called, but I was already up to the second level, going for the third.

* * *

"Ray, wait." Octavia halted. "They locked the hatch."

I rolled my eyes and climbed a few more steps, banging on the latch. "Hey! Open the door!" I yelled, continuing to bang on it. When it opened, Miller was blocking my way. "Get out of my way, Miller." I ordered. "Now!"

Miller backed away and I shoved past him, standing right in front of the Grounder. I held the blade up in front of his face. "What's on this?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy whispered.

"He poisoned the blade." I informed, keeping my glare locked with the Grounder's. "All this time, you knew Finn was gonna die no matter what we did." I accused. "What is it?" I demanded. "Is there an antidote?"

"Rayleigh, he doesn't understand you." Octavia informed, standing behind the rest of us.

"Vials." Bellamy muttered, reaching for a small container near the Grounder's belongings. He opened it and inside were five vials with different liquids. "It's gotta be here."

I took the container and looked over each vial, tossing the knife aside. "You'd have to be stupid to have a poison around this long without an antidote." I murmured. "Which one?" I asked, showing the vials to the Grounder.

Dead silence. "Answer the question!" Bellamy ordered.

"Show us." Octavia pleaded. "Please."

Still nothing. "Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that." I told him, hoping he had some sort of conscience.

Bellamy's glare intensified. "I'll get him to talk." he said.

Octavia reached out and grabbed his arm. "Bellamy, no." she begged.

"He wants Finn to die. Why can't you see that?" he yelled, making Octavia back down. He then looked over to me. " Do you want him to live or not?"

I looked between the two siblings. Octavia shook her head and grabbed my hand. "Ray, you even said it yourself. This is not who we are!" she reminded. "He was protecting me. He saved my life."

"We're talking about Finn's life." Bellamy cut in.

I closed my eyes, knowing exactly what had to be done. As much as it went against my own morals, I met Bellamy's intense look with one of my own. "Do it." I agreed.

He nodded and cut loose a seat belt from one of the few remaining seats left on the ship. He cut off the Grounder's shirt, revealing tribal markings of some kind. "You're gonna show us the antidote or you're gonna wish you had." Bellamy threatened.

He stood a few inches from the Grounder, gripping the end of the belt. Despite pleadings from Octavia, Bellamy struck the Grounder full force with the latch part of the belt. He struck him a second time, and still he didn't flinch. I stepped in between them and put the vials on the ground. "Please." I begged. "Which one's the antidote?"

When the Grounder still remained silent, I lowered my head. Bellamy put his hand on my shoulder, rubbing my shoulder blade with his thumb. I looked over my shoulder and saw the look in his eyes. I took his hand and Bellamy pulled me to my feet, his arm moving around my waist to steady me. With one final look, I walked away and stood by Miller, watching as Bellamy continued with the torture.

"Please stop!" Octavia screamed.

"Rayleigh!" Clarke called from the lower level. "He's getting worse!"

"We're running out of time." I murmured, walking up to stand beside Bellamy. "Which one is it?" I asked. "If you tell us, he'll stop." I motioned to Bellamy. "Please tell us which is the antidote and he'll stop this."

Bellamy tossed the belt aside, helping me to my feet. "If that doesn't work, maybe this will." he grabbed a spike and clutched it. I looked at it, before meeting his eyes. Bellamy put his hand on my shoulder, "Ray, you don't have to be here for this." he whispered.

"I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." I replied, keeping my eyes locked with his. This entire thing went against my nature, but I was at the breaking point and this was the only way to get the Grounder to tell us which vial held the antidote. Bellamy looked the Grounder right in the eyes, and when he didn't waver, jammed the spike through his hand. The Grounder still didn't make a sound, he bit back the scream any other person would've let out.

"What's taking so long?" Raven complained, climbing up the ladder. She walked up to me. "He stopped breathing."

"What?" I asked.

"He started again, but next time, he might not." she added.

I ran my hands over my hair, glancing at the stone-faced Grounder. "He won't tell us anything."

Raven looked in his direction, eyes narrowed. "Wanna bet?" she challenged. She yanked two wires out of a panel and started rubbing the ends together.

"What are you doing?" Bellamy asked.

"Showing him something new." she answered, shoving the wires onto the Grounder's chest and abdomen, electrocuting him. "Which one is it?" she demanded. "Come on!" she electrocuted him once more, this time he screamed. "He's all I have!"

"No more!" Octavia yelled, getting our attention. She held the knife in a death grip.

"He's letting Finn die." Raven reminded, tears streaming down her face.

Octavia cut her arm with the knife, blood dripping on the ground. "He won't let me die." she stated, kneeling in front of the Grounder. She pointed to each of the vials, until the Grounder confirmed the right antidote. She handed me the vial and I took off down the ladder, rushing to Finn's side.

* * *

"Here." I handed the vial to Clarke. "Not all of it though."

She nodded and took out the stopper. "Hold his head up." she told me.

I nodded and slid my hands under Finn's head, craning it up. Clarke put the vial to his lips and gently poured it down his throat.

"How do we know if it works?" Raven asked, draping a blanket over Finn.

I rubbed her upper back. "We'll know when he wakes up." I reassured. "He'll need water when he does." Raven nodded. I handed her the antidote vial, "Give the rest to Octavia."

"Sure." she patted my shoulder and climbed up the ladder.

Clarke took a deep breath, and laid her forehead on the table, her shoulders heaving. I walked over and rubbed her back soothingly. "He's gonna be fine sis, don't worry." I whispered.

A faint transmission came over the radio. "Rayleigh? Clarke?" mom's voice hailed. "Can you hear me?"

Clarke wiped the tears from her eyes. "We're here." she replied, taking my hand and squeezing it.

"Oh, thank God." mom muttered. "The the storm's passing." she informed. "How's Finn doing?"

"He's gonna be okay." I replied, my ponytail draped over my shoulder. I eased Clarke to her feet and we stood by the radio table.

"Oh, that's thanks to the both of you. I'm so proud of you girls." mom praised. "And your father would be so proud, too."

Clarke sniffled. "Don't talk about him." she quipped.

"Clarke?" mom questioned. "What's wrong? Please tell me what it is."

"Dad's dead because of you." Clarke replied, more tears falling. "You turned him in. We all know it."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Wells told us everything before he-" I added, feeling the moisture well in my eyes too. "He let me believe that he did it, so that Clarke and I would hate him instead of you." a tear rolled down my cheek. "We've known the entire time we've been on Earth." I wiped the tears and sniffled, laying my temple against Clarke's.

Mom took a deep breath. "Girls, I want you to listen to me." she pleaded. "That was never supposed to happen." her voice cracked, so I figured she must've been crying too. "Jaha was supposed to talk him out of it."

Clarke shook her head and hit the radio. "No, we're done talking to you." she cried, walking back to sit next to Finn.

I ran my hands over my hair and shuddered, exhaling heavily. Being who I was, the best way I knew to avoid emotional distractions was to throw myself into my work. Since Finn was alive and resting, I decided to test my luck and show the Grounder prisoner some kindness by tending to the wounds inflicted on him by Bellamy.

* * *

I pulled the spike from his hand and set it on the ground by a bucket of water. I wrung out a washcloth and went to clean the wound in his hand, but he yanked it away. "I need to clean this." I told him, but he continued to give me the same glare he gave Bellamy.

"Here." Octavia offered. "Let me try."

I handed her the washcloth and the Grounder opened his hand just enough for Octavia to press the rag to his wound. "I never wanted him to get hurt, Octavia. You have to know that." I admitted. "I just wanted to save Finn."

"For the record, you didn't save Finn." Octavia rebuttled, not looking at me. "That was me. But whatever you want to tell yourself to feel better."

I pursed my lips together, grabbed the spike, and left, climbing down the ladder and exiting the drop ship.

* * *

Everyone was cleaning up the damage from the hurricane, which had passed. It lasted all through the night, and the past events were finally catching up with me. Clarke walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck, laying her head on my shoulder. "That was a long a stressful night, I'm turning in." she kissed my cheek.

I laid my head against her's. "I'll join you in a second." I replied, caressing her hands. She nodded and headed for our tent, which miraculously survived the storm.

I walked into the center of camp, looking at the damaged wall. "We'll get it cleaned up." Bellamy assured, standing next to me.

I twisted the spike in my hand. "I wish this was our only mess." I admitted.

Bellamy took the spike from me, "Rayleigh." he muttered, making me look at him. He reached up and cupped my cheek, caressing it with his thumb. "Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things." he told me.

I reached up and took his hand, interlacing our fingers, glancing at the top floor of the drop ship. "What are we gonna do with him?" I asked, referring to the Grounder on said floor. "We can't keep him locked up forever."

"If we let him go, he'll be back, and not alone next time." he pointed out. I shook my head and looked out at the horizon. "It's not easy being in charge, is it?" he asked, caressing the back of my hand. "Princess Commander."

I scoffed. "Princess Commander, what a joke." I muttered, pursing my lips together. I turned and faced Bellamy head on. "I'm not emotionally built to be a leader, so why call me that at all?"

Bellamy closed the distance between us and moved his arm so it was around my waist. "Like it or not, some of these guys look up to you." he looked out at the camp and I saw Monroe, Harper, and Fox banding together repairing a section of the wall. "Mostly it's the girls, but still," he looked down at me. "they look up to you."

I licked my lips, "How could you do it?" I asked, meeting his eyes. "Torture the Grounder the way you did? I could never do that."

"I did it because we needed to save Finn." he answered. "If we show weakness, we'll be slaughtered. We can't be afraid to do what has to be done for our people."

"Our people." I repeated, looking out at everyone working together. "Why us?" I asked, looking back up to Bellamy. "Why do we have to make those calls? Why do their lives have to rest in our hands?" I felt more tears fall from my eyes.

Bellamy pulled me into an embrace, rubbing my back. "A lot of leaders probably asked those very same questions." he replied. "Sometimes people are just born to be leaders. I think we're those people."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, laying my cheek against his chest. "Just knowing that Finn's life rested in my hands was enough to shake me." I admitted. "For a moment I thought he was going to die." I pulled away, "What would've happened if he did?"

"Ray, you can't worry about what-if's." Bellamy advised, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "You can't second guess yourself. Have faith that you can save everyone who needs you." he tilted my chin up. "I know that if anything happens to me, you'll save me. Just like Finn and Jasper."

I hugged him tightly, without thinking. "Don't say that." I whispered. "Please." I bit my lip and pulled away, caressing his cheek. "You're the one person who can't end up on my exam table. If anything happens to you, we're all dead."

Bellamy leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss. I closed my eyes and kissed back, my hands holding his broad shoulders while his arms tightened around my lower back. My heart hammered in my chest, but my head screamed _"Too soon."_ I pulled away, catching my breath. "Too soon." I repeated aloud. I looked up into his eyes. "Bellamy, I-"

"No, I get it." he cut off. "It's too soon. I mean it's been almost a week since..."

I nodded. "Yeah." I cleared my throat. "I'm gonna turn in. It was a long night and-"

"You need your rest." he finished, his hands dropping from my waist. He kissed my forehead and went to repair the wall with a few other guys.

I walked back to my tent, my heart still fluttering like a caged bird.


	9. Day Trip

**Day Trip**

 **A/N: Another slightly updated chapter, enjoy.**

* * *

I paced in front of the radio tent, waiting for Miller to finish his session. Somehow, he was the one who drew the short straw on talking to the parents of the kids who we lost so far. The tent opened and he stepped out, his hands laced behind his head.

"That's never easy, telling a parent their kid's dead." Miller sighed.

I patted his shoulder. "It's okay." I consoled.

He nodded, "Ray, the Chancellor wants to talk with you." he told me. "Something about a council meeting."

"Council meeting?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Miller nodded in confirmation. "Where's Bellamy?" he asked.

I pointed to the third level of the drop ship. "Guarding the prisoner." I answered, slipping inside the tent.

I slipped on the headset and met eyes with Chancellor Jaha, thanks to the newly constructed video chat that Raven built. "Rayleigh, thanks for joining us." he greeted.

I smiled politely and nodded. "What did you and the Council wish to discuss with me, Chancellor?" I asked, folding my hands in front of me.

"Always quick to the point." Jaha noted, cracking a smile. "Tell me about the Grounder you have imprisoned." he answered. "Can he provide any insight on how to survive winter?"

I shook my head in response. "We're doing everything we can to prepare here." I informed. "We're gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots, but the truth is, we'll freeze before we starve." I sighed.

"There's good news on that front." Kane announced, the screen switching to him. "According to civil defense plans from before the war, there's an old emergency aid depot not far from the landing site." he pulled up a map on his tablet, showing it to me. "Here are the coordinates."

I jotted down the coordinates on a scrap of paper from the old map. "In addition to supplies, it could provide shelter for the 100 and for the citizens coming down from The Ark." Jaha added.

"And what makes you think it's intact?" I asked, leaning into my arms.

"It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare." Kane noted.

"All right." I agreed. "It's worth a shot."

"Chancellor, I have to object." interjected Diana Sydney, the former Chancellor and new Council member in place of my mother. "Project Exodus is under way. The kids should sit tight in their camp until the first drop ship launches." she suggested.

"Even if everything goes without a hitch, the 100 would die from exposure before relief arrives." Jaha informed, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "I'd like a moment with Rayleigh alone, please." the rest of the council nodded and proceeded to leave the room. "and I know there's a line of parents waiting to talk to their kids." Jaha faced me, his expression warm and welcoming. "Rayleigh, we all are very proud of what you've done down there." he praised. "Your mother-"

"I don't want to talk about my mother." I cut off, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Please." Jaha pleaded. "It's time to forgive. Let me schedule a time for you, Clarke, and Abby to sit down-"

"Look." I interjected. "I know you both think that executing my father was an unavoidable tragedy" I swallowed the rising lump in my throat. "But I don't see it that way, and I probably never will. I know Clarke won't." I took a deep breath and sighed. "So just tell me who's next and let someone who actually wants to talk to their parents have a turn."

Jaha nodded in agreement, not pushing the issue further. He gave me the next name and I left the tent. "Dax." I called, looking around. Water had frozen over on the drop ship chairs and some of the kids were chipping away at it. I found Jasper and Monty sorting nuts by the ration station and approached them, "Hey, you guys seen Dax?"

"Over there on the meat crew." Monty answered.

"Thanks." I patted his shoulder, heading to the section where the meats were being cured. "Dax you're up." I called, motioning to the radio tent.

"Thanks Ray." he replied, patting my shoulder as he passed me.

* * *

I scratched the back of my head, twisting the end of my ponytail around my finger, glancing at the coordinates I wrote down. I made my way to the drop ship to ask Bellamy if he would accompany me to this location, seeing as how he was my best bet to survive the trek.

"Bellamy." I called, entering the ship.

"The answer is still no." he shrugged, off, walking past me. "I'm not talking to Jaha."

I grabbed his elbow, making him face me. "Relax, that's not why I'm here." I replied.

"What, then?" he asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

I sighed. "The Ark found some old records that show a supply depot not too far from here." I informed.

"What kind of supplies?" Bellamy questioned.

"The kind that might give us a chance to live through winter." I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm gonna go check it out. I could use backup."

Bellamy smirked and chuckled. "Why are you asking me?" he prided.

My shoulders sank. "Well, I'm sending Clarke out on another mission with Fox and Monroe, and I figured you'd be my best bet to survive the trek to this location." I smiled.

That seemed to have sold it to him because that smirk turned into a smile. "I'll get my stuff and meet you in 10."

"Great." I patted his shoulder, "I'll be at the trail by the graveyard." I walked past him and headed back to Monty and Jasper. "Hey Monty, where's that list of medicinal plants you drew up for me?" I asked.

"In my tent." he answered. "Why?"

"Just grab it, please." I answered, batting my eyelashes.

Monty nodded and practically darted to his tent. I smirked and found my sister. "Clarke, come here." I motioned to her.

"Yeah, what Ray?" she asked.

"I have a little mission for you." I told her. My eyes wandered around the camp and I saw Monroe and Fox with a few others at the clothes staion. I whistled, "Monroe, Fox, get over here."

"Coming Princess Commander." Fox called, running up to me with Monroe following.

"You summoned." Monroe chuckled.

"Here's that list Ray." Monty chided, handing me a stack of pages with drawings and short paragraphs.

"Thanks." I replied, turning to the three girls. "Clarke, I want you to take Fox and Monroe out to gather as much of these plats as you can before nightfall." I handed her the pages.

"Why?" Fox asked.

"Because I'm going out of camp with Bellamy to an old aid depot." I answered. "The Council found out about it and figured the supplies there could help us survive the coming winter." I put my hand on my hip. "I want the two of you," I motioned to Monroe and Fox, "to watch my sister's back. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." they replied in unison.

I nodded. "Great. Grab some gear and head out." I patted Clarke's shoulder. "Check on Finn before you leave."

She nodded in reply and I made my way back to our tent, grabbing my bow and arrows. I shrugged on a jacket and tied a holster around my thigh, shoving a small knife into it. I walked up to the graveyard, looking at each one for a few seconds. Even though they were unmarked, I knew who was in which grave. My eyes lingered on Wells', and my eyes stung.

"Ready Princess?" Bellamy asked, walking up behind me.

I blinked back the tears, "Yeah, let's get a move on." I made my way down the trail with Bellamy at my side. I glanced over and saw his pack was full of rations. "That's a lot of rations." I noted, looking up at him. "You realize this is just a day trip."

Bellamy looked back at me. "A lot can happen in a day." he reminded.

I quirked an eyebrow and shrugged, keeping pace as we left the camp.

* * *

We walked in silence for a few hours, the only noise was the sound of leaves crunching under our feet and chewing the nuts we brought along. I reached up and twisted the ring dangling from my neck.

"You've been playing that thing since we left." Bellamy noted, looking back at me. "What's so special about it?"

I walked up to him and showed him the ring. "My dad made this for my mom, when he decided he wanted to marry her." I informed. "He left it for me, to remember him by." I looked down at it as I held it in my palm. "He also told me that, when I find that right person, the one I want to be with forever, to give this to him to put on my finger." I bit back the tears. "And that I have his blessing whenever I do decide." I dropped the ring, letting it rest in place on my chest.

"I thought Jaha floated your dad before you could see him." Bellamy questioned.

"He wrote a letter." I replied. "My mom gave it to me after Clarke and I were put in solitary."

Bellamy just nodded and continued down the trail. I took a deep breath and exhaled, following right behind him. I cleared my throat, "You know the first drop ship is gonna come down soon." I said, staring up a conversation. "Pretty sure you can't avoid Jaha forever."

"I can damn well try." Bellamy replied.

As we came near a field and the nuked remains of what appeared to be a city, I checked the coordinates again. "The depot is supposed to be around here somewhere." I noted, looking around, popping a few more nuts into my mouth.

"There's got to be a door." Bellamy said, surveying the area.

I swallowed, glancing at him. "Maybe Jaha will be lenient." I threw out, referencing our earlier conversation.

"Look, I shot the man, Ray." Bellamy snapped, his eyes meeting mine. "He's not just gonna forgive and forget." he sighed. "Let's just split up, cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance." he brushed his hand over my shoulder as he passed me.

My shoulders sank and I went in the opposite direction, eating in silence. As I walked, my foot stepped on something metal. I tapped my toe on it a couple times, grinning. "Bellamy!" I shouted. "Bellamy, over here! I found a door!" I cut away some grass and set my pack to the side, pulling on the handle. "I think it's rusted shut." I grunted.

Bellamy unhooked his ax from his belt. "Here. Watch your foot." he warned, pushing my leg out of the way. He slammed the weapon down on the hinges, knocking them loose. "Ok. Give me a hand."

He and I gripped the handle and pulled, opening the door and looking down the concrete stairs. A rustling caught my ear and I quickly grabbed an arrow and pulled it back in my bowstring, but nothing was there. Bellamy gave me a confused, yet sarcastic, look. "I thought I heard something." I defended.

"Probably a rabbit or something." he rebuked, pulling out a flashlight.

I sighed, putting my weapon back in my pack, slinging it over my chest. "Yeah, probably." I agreed, taking out my flashlight. "Wouldn't want to kill Thumper."

"Excuse me?" Bellamy questioned.

I chuckled. "My grandmother would read us Walt Disney fairy-tales when we were younger." I answered. "There was one about a deer named Bambi and he had a rabbit friend named Thumper."

Bellamy shook his head, "You're such a girl." he muttered.

"And you can be dick." I shot back, smirking. "Let's go." I descended the stairs, shining my flashlight ahead of me.

"Really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" Bellamy asked, close behind me.

"A girl can dream." I answered, hearing a crunch under my feet. My head sunk, "Not again." I muttered, shining the flashlight at my feet. What I stepped on was a human arm, the human itself was a mummy. "Glad that was an arm and not the ribs." I glanced back at Bellamy, who raised an eyebrow. "Then I'd be cleaning liquefied organs off my boots." I motioned to the desiccated human corpse.

"That's not the first skeleton you've accidentally stepped on." Bellamy noted as we continued into the bunker.

"That wasn't a skeleton." I corrected. "That was a mummy, still had skin." I wiped my forehead with my jacket sleeve. "Skeletons are creepy. Mummies are disgusting."

"Hell of a place to die." Bellamy noted.

Seeing another corpse made me shiver. "So much for living down here." I scoffed. "Damn it."

"Anything left down here is ruined." Bellamy shook his head.

"They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off." I guessed, checking the containers on a shelf nearby. Inside one were stacked blankets. "Hey, I found some blankets."

"Excited about a couple of blankets?" Bellamy scoffed.

I turned back to him. "Well, it's something." I reminded. "At least we won't freeze to death."

Bellamy ran his hands over his hair. "Yeah, well how about a canteen, or a med kit, or a decent fricking tent?" he kicked over a tin drum by the wall, it's contents spilling onto the floor.

Inside the barrel was a bunch of automatic rifles. "This changes things." I muttered.

Bellamy smiled, grabbing a red tarp and marking it with a giant 'X', hanging it a few feet away from us. "This changes everything." he corrected. "No more running from spears." he continued eating the nuts he brought from camp.

I held one of the rifles in my hand, "I'm not gonna fight you on bringing guns back to camp." I told him. "I know we need them, just don't expect me to like it."

"We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease." Bellamy noted. "The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore. You need to learn how to do this. The bullets will do a lot more damage than your arrows will."

"Hey, don't knock my bow and arrows, okay?" I quipped. "I spent a lot of time on them and frankly, I'm getting really good." I smiled. "I did hit a couple Grounders when we went searching for Octavia."

Bellamy nodded, "These will do a lot more damage." he reminded. "Ready to be a badass, Princess?"

I scoffed. "Why do men always think guns make you a badass?" I wondered. "Seriously, you're such a guy."

"Quite being such a girl." he chuckled, standing behind me.

"So I'm a pacifist, sue me." I glanced up and met his eyes, my senses nearly exploding. "Okay, so I just hold it on my shoulder?" I asked, blinking away the haze.

"Yeah, just a little higher now." Bellamy instructed, placing his hand on my shoulder blade. "Keep your back straight." I nodded and stood up, flipping my ponytail from one shoulder to the other. Bellamy's thumb caressed the ridge of my shoulder blade, sending electrical shocks throughout my body. "Yeah. Uh, that's good." he cleared his throat, grabbing a rifle from the bin. "Watch and learn." he pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He repeated the process twice, and still nothing.

"Still watching." I muttered.

Bellamy lowered the gun, "My bullets are duds." he defended. "Try yours."

I shrugged and held the rifle like he showed me. I pulled the trigger and the bullet hit a section to the right of the giant 'X'. My breath hitched in my throat as I gasped, adrenaline pumping like crazy. "Wow. That was amazing." I breathed, grinning. "Am I a horrible person for feeling that?" I asked, glancing at Bellamy.

He shook his head and smiled. "Try again." he encouraged.

"No. We shouldn't waste the ammunition." I pointed out, setting the rifle aside.

"You need to practice." he told me.

"No." I rebuked. "We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp, where are we gonna keep them, and who has access." Bellamy ignored me and fired a live round, hitting a near bullseye. "You left Miller in charge of the Grounder." I added. "You must trust him."

"You should keep him close." Bellamy advised. "The others listen to him."

"I should keep him close?" I repeated, stepping in front of him. "Bellamy, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day." I saw something in his eyes and glanced down to his pack. "All the rations you took. You're gonna run." I deduced. "That's why you agreed to come with me. You were gonna load up on supplies and just disappear."

"I don't have a choice." he defended. "The Ark will be here soon."

"So you're just gonna leave Octavia?" I questioned.

"Octavia hates me. She'll be fine." he shrugged off.

"You don't know-"

"I shot the chancellor." he cut me off. "They're gonna kill me, Rayleigh." it was desperation I saw in his eyes. "Best-case scenario, they lock me up with the Grounder for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Jaha the satisfaction." he set the rifle on the drum. "Keep practicing. I need some air." he shoved past me and exited the bunker.

I looked over the rifle and shook my head, searching for anything I could put the guns in to lug them back to camp. My head was feeling fuzzy and I leaned against the wall, panting. I blinked and found myself reliving an old memory from before my solitary sentence.

* * *

I watched the memory unfold as a younger me looked out a window from The Ark hallway, staring at Earth below.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Cadet Blake questioned, standing beside me, his arms folded behind him.

She looked up and nodded, smiling before turning her attention back to humanity's former home. "Think we'll ever be able to go back?" she asked.

Bellamy smiled, a genuine one, taking her hand. "I'm sure someday we will." he answered, caressing her hand and interlocking their fingers. My own nerves ignited as I remembered.

She looked up into his eyes as he brushed her bangs from her face. Their faces inched closer together and he pressed his lips over hers, a kiss that made my heart skip a beat. The first time I kissed Bellamy Blake, and realized I had feelings for him.

Footsteps approached as they pulled away from each other. "Rayleigh." Wells called, making her turn and take a step away from Bellamy. "C'mon, my dad found the perfect spot to watch the eclipse. Your family's waiting."

She nodded. "Coming." she walked up to him and Wells wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The two walked in step, seemingly happy to anyone else's eyes.

I focused on Bellamy, who stood by the window, a look of hurt in his brown eyes. "Bellamy, I never meant to hurt you." I whimpered, stepping up next to him. I reached out and brushed the backs of my fingers down his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

He looked down and walked in the opposite direction. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and closed my eyes.

* * *

When I opened them I was in my solitary cell on The Ark, the walls and floor covered in Clarke's drawings of Earth. "It's not what you imagined, is it?" a voice questioned behind me.

I felt someone caress my shoulder and turned around to find Wells looking down at me with the same loving eyes he always did. My lips curled into a smile, "Now I know this isn't real." I muttered, "I buried you, with tears in my eyes."

Wells wiped the stray tear that fell down my face. "Doesn't mean I'm not gone forever." he whispered.

I sniffled, sitting on the bottom bunk. "How is this possible?" I pondered aloud.

"I'm thinking why more important than how." Wells replied, sitting next to me. "Why me?"

I bit my lip, shuddering. "Because I miss you." I admitted, looking up at him.

"Think there's more to it than that, Ray." he prided, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Deep down, I think you know why me."

I sighed, shaking my head. "You want me to forgive my mom." I deduced.

Wells' arm tightened around me. "Your mom loves you, Rayleigh." he assured, kissing my temple.

I bit back the tears, "She betrayed my dad." I reminded, looking up at him. "How can I ever forgive her?" I reached up and grasped the ring. "I'm trying to, really I am." I laid my face in my hands, running them over my hair. "I'm trying all the time." I whimpered. "But everyone is counting on me, and it's so hard." I let the tears fall. "I'm so confused."

"Come here." Wells whispered, pulling me closer to him. He laid his head on top of mine, his thumb caressing my shoulder. "The whole Princess Commander thing's really settling in huh?" he asked, patting my knee. "They're looking up to you. It's been tough, hasn't it?"

I let out a shuddering breath, meeting his eyes. "I let someone get tortured." I told him. "It went against my nature, but I let it happen anyway."

"You're doing the best you can." Wells reassured, kissing the top of my head. "At the end of the day, that's all you can do."

I rolled my eyes and looked up at him. "I can't help but feel responsible for your death." I admitted. "I found you outside the wall and my heart broke."

Wells kissed my lips softly. "It wasn't your fault." he rebuked, touching his forehead to my temple. "I'm just happy we patched things up before it happened." he looked down at me. "First loves stay with you, but you can't let that hold you back from being happy again."

I rubbed my forehead. "Now I know this is some sort of dream." I murmured. "I'm getting relationship advice from my recently deceased ex-boyfriend."

Wells patted my leg. "I've known you had feelings for someone else, before we even landed down here." he informed. "If they're strong, go for it." he tilted my face to the side so I could look him in the eyes. "Don't let fear hold you back." he brushed my hair behind my ear, touching his forehead to mine. "You deserve to be happy." he caressed my cheek, "I want you to find love again."

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I closed my eyes, turning my face away. Wells' voice slowly faded and then I felt something strike my in the forehead. Everything went dark seconds later.

* * *

When I came to, everything was clear. I sat up on my hands and knees, wincing at the pain radiating from my forehead. I reached up and felt a mix of dried and fresh blood. It took me a couple seconds before I got to my feet. "Bellamy." I muttered, there was no sign he ever came back. I grabbed a rifle and hurried outside, where it was pouring rain. We ate the same kinds of nuts on our way here, and if those were the source of the hallucination I just had, I knew I had to find Bellamy before something killed him.

I finally found him, and saw Dax holding a rifle point blank at Bellamy's chest. I held the rifle I grabbed ready, "Put it down, Dax." I ordered.

Dax looked over his shoulder, "Should've stayed down there, Rayleigh." he advised. "I tried not to kill you, but here you are, and Shumway said no witnesses."

I looked past Dax, meeting Bellamy's eyes. "What is he talking about?" I asked.

Bellamy panted, his hair falling in his face due to the rain. "Shumway set it up." he answered. "He gave me the gun to shoot the chancellor."

Dax turned and faced me, gun pointed in my direction. "Walk away now, and I won't kill you."

"Put it down." I repeated, narrowing my eyes in a glare.

"Your choice." Dax said.

I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. I ducked behind a tree as Dax fired a live round. I tried reloading the chamber but the sliding mechanism was jammed. peeking behind the tree I saw Dax beating Bellamy with the rifle. He stood over him, the rifle against his throat.

"No!" I yelled, dropping the rifle. "Get the hell off him!" I grabbed Dax's arm and tried to pull him off Bellamy. Instead that got me a butt of the rifle to the eye. I winced and braced my hands on my knees. Dax kicked my in the ribs and when I looked up, punched me in the jaw. That hit sent me to the ground where all I could do was stare at the gun pointed at my chest.

I closed my eyes and heard a round fire. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw a large bloodstain on the front of Dax's shirt. He collapsed to the side and I saw Bellamy holding the gun, eyes wide. I blinked in initial shock, and sighed in relief. When I moved, I winced, wrapping my arm around my stomach, gasping for breath.

"Rayleigh." Bellamy grunted, kneeling in front of me.

I gave him a smile, "I'm fine. Just a few bruised ribs." I assured, spitting out blood that pooled in my mouth from my busted lip.

Bellamy slid down beside me, staring at Dax's body. I laid my head on his left shoulder, sighing in relief. "You're ok." I breathed.

"No, I'm not." he rebuked, his voice cracking. "My mother if she knew what I've done, who I am." he choked on the tears. "She raised me to be better, to be good, and all I do is hurt people." I saw a single tear roll down his cheek. "I'm a monster."

"Bellamy." I muttered, cupping his cheek, moving his face to meet mine. "You saved my life just now." I reminded. "You may be a total ass half the time, but we all need you." I felt moisture well in my eyes too. "None of us would've survived this place if it wasn't for you." I sighed. "You want forgiveness, fine, I'll give it to you, you're forgiven, okay." I caressed his cheek. "But you can't run, Bellamy. You have to come back with me. You have to face it."

"Like you faced your mom?" Bellamy questioned, looking into my eyes.

I bit my lip, sniffling. "You're right. I don't want to face my mom. I don't want to face any of it really." I admitted, laying my head on his shoulder and looking up at the dark sky. "All I think about every day is how we're gonna keep everyone alive, but we don't have a choice."

Bellamy swallowed, taking my hand in his. "Jaha will kill me when he comes down." he predicted.

I rolled on my side and looked him in the eye, caressing his cheek. "We'll figure something out." I promised, kissing his jaw.

He laid his chin on top of my head. "Can we figure it out later?" he asked.

I smiled. "Whenever you're ready." I agreed. I adjusted my body so I was laying more into him, the back of my head against his chest. My hand found his and our fingers intertwined, I lightly brushed my thumb over the back of his hand. "I need you, Bellamy." I whispered, looking up at him. "I can't lead them without you."

"Okay, let's go back." Bellamy voted leaning off the tree. He offered me his hand and helped me to my feet, I winced as my ribs flared up again.

We went inside the depot and packed the rifles, ammunition, and the blankets into bags. walking back out into the rain. I adjusted my pack so I could carry it and the supplies, my wet hair sticking to my face.

I caught Bellamy staring at Dax's body and I took his hand. "You killed him to save me." I reminded, laying my chin on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand and we took off back to camp, supplies in hand.

* * *

There was commotion coming from camp, and we were close enough to hear that the Grounder escaped.

"Let the Grounders come." Bellamy interjected as we approached the bonfire. "We've been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being afraid." he glanced at me and I nodded.

We tossed the bags of rifles out in front of us, showing them off to everyone. There were gasps and cheers. "These are weapons, not toys." I stated. "And we have to be prepared to give them up to the Guard when the drop ships come. However, until then, they're gonna help keep us safe."

"And there are plenty more where these came from." Bellamy added. "Tomorrow we start training, and if the Grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight."

I headed for the communications tent and got the video chat up and running. "Evening Rayleigh." Jaha greeted. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It's not so much me, but Bellamy." I answered. "He's ready to talk to you, about what happened when you sent us down here." I licked my lips. "Afterwards, I want you to get my mom, whenever she's done working."

Jaha nodded, "Of course." he agreed. "If Bellamy is ready, I can talk right now."

"Okay, I'll go get him." I set the headset down and stood just outside the tent, seeing Bellamy drape and blanket around Octavia, who was leaning against the wall, staring off into the woods. "Bellamy!" I called. "It's time."

Bellamy walked up to me, exhaling heavily. "Let's do this." he voted.

I reached down and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "I'll be right by your side." I promised.

* * *

We both sat down in front of the monitor and put on the headsets. "Mr. Blake." Jaha addressed. "I've wanted to talk to you for some time now."

"I'd like to say something first, if you don't mind Chancellor." I interjected.

Jaha nodded his head, "Not at all." he agreed. "Go ahead."

"When you sent us down here, you sent us to die." I stated. "Miraculously though, most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him." I motioned to Bellamy, my lips curling into a smile. Under the table. I reached over and placed my hand over his. "Because of Bellamy. He's one of us, and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes just like the rest of us."

"Rayleigh, I appreciate your point of view." Jaha praised. "But it's not that simple."

"It is." Bellamy rebuked. "If you want to know who on The Ark wants you dead."

After a minute of silence, Jaha sighed, clasping his hands together. "Bellamy Blake, you're pardoned for your crimes." he stated. Bellamy interlocked our fingers, squeezing my hand. "Now, tell me who gave you the gun." Jaha went on.

Bellamy gave his answer and Jaha leaned back, giving thanks and saying he'll have it handled. He left the screen's view for a few minutes. Bellamy sighed in relief, taking the headset off. He left the tent when Jaha returned to the screen, "Your mother's on her way, Rayleigh." he informed.

"Thanks." I replied. "I have to check on someone, but then I'll be right back." I took the headset off and stepped outside, seeing Bellamy staring up at the sky. "Feel better?" I asked, moving to stand next to him.

"Honestly, yes I do." he answered, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Good." I kissed his cheek. "I have to check on Finn real quick. Then, I'm gonna talk to her. My mom."

"Want me to stay with you while you do?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Nice thought, but it's something I need to do on my own." I walked away and headed to Finn's tent.

* * *

"Welcome back, Princess Commander." he joked as I knelt by his side.

"Since you're still injured, I'm gonna let that tone slide." I warned, lifting up his shirt and removed the bandage.

Finn's expression turned serious. "Guns?" he questioned. "Really?"

I sighed, cleaning the wound. "With the Grounder escaping, we have to expect retaliation." I reminded. "We have to be prepared."

"Yeah. Our ancestors wanted to be prepared, too." Finn pointed out. "So they built bombs."

I rolled my eyes. "Rifles are not the same as nukes." I scoffed.

"In Bellamy's hands, they are." Finn rebuked. "Ray, come on. You can't predict what he's gonna do."

"There's no perfect answer, Finn." I interjected, taping a new bandaged over his wound.

"The Grounder saved Octavia's life, and Bellamy brought him back here and tortured him." he reminded.

"Yeah, but if he hadn't brought him back here, you'd be dead." I pointed out, sighed. "I trust him."

Finn's eyes widened. "You can't be serious." he gaped.

"I am." I confirmed, wiping my hands on my cargo pants.

"Ray, you and Bellamy are leading us down a dangerous road." Finn warned. "I wish you would've talked to someone about it first."

I rolled my eyes. "Like you talked to my sister about your girlfriend before you slept with her." I quipped.

Finn's expression changed. "Clarke told you?"

"I may be a blonde, but I'm not stupid." I scoffed. "I could see what was going on." I stood up and looked down at him. "You broke my little sister's heart, you're lucky I haven't gutted you." I ducked out of the tent and sighed heavily, walking away.

* * *

"Rayleigh, hey." Clarke called, jogging up to me. "Look, I wanna talk to you about-"

"I just had this conversation." I cut her off. "I trust Bellamy, okay?" Clarke blinked in surprised. "He saved my life tonight Clarke." I informed. "The man who gave him the gun, to shoot Jaha, yeah, same guy ordered Dax to kill Bellamy." I added. "Dax almost killed me, but Bellamy shot him before he could."

We both looked across the camp and saw Bellamy talking with Miller and a few others. "Guess I owe him a thank you for saving my big sister." she muttered.

"Thank him tomorrow." I advised. "I'm gonna shut down the radio, I'll see ya in a bit."

"Okay." Clarke wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you."

I rubbed her back, "I love you too." I replied, kissing her temple. She smiled and retired to our tent.

* * *

I walked to the communications tent, catching Bellamy right outside. I grabbed his arm, "Thanks, for saving me earlier." I told him. "Don't think I really did before."

"You ready to face your mom?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck, tightly embracing him. His arms linked around my back, returning the embrace. "I owe you my life, Bellamy." I cried into his shoulder.

"Hey." he whispered, pulling away and reaching down to cup the side of my face. "I won't let anything happen to you." he promised.

I moved my hand from his shoulder to his cheek, gazing into his deep, brown eyes. Before I knew it our lips met and every nerve in my body was ignited. My right hand stayed on his cheek while I wrapped my left arm around his neck. Bellamy's arms latched around my back, keeping me pressed against him as our tongues brushed against one another's. Our noses brushed against eachother's as we pulled away. I panted as my heart fluttered in my chest.

"Sweet dreams, Rayleigh." Bellamy whispered, his forehead touching mine.

"Goodnight Bellamy." I replied, slipping out of his arms. I watched him walk back to his tent and I spun on my heels, ducking into the communications tent, my lips curled into a school-girl smile.

* * *

I sat opposite the video screen, headset in place. I took a deep breath and exhaled, composure set as my mom appeared opposite me. She pursed her lips together, her eyes welling with moisture; tears of happiness. "Rayleigh." she breathed.

I smiled back, "Hi mom." I replied, sniffling.


	10. Unity Day

**Unity Day**

* * *

Today was different. To the people of The Ark, today was Unity Day, the day we celebrated the joining of the twelve space stations that formed The Ark. Everyone gathered in front of the radio to watch Chancellor Jaha's speech.

"This is an historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the 12 stations joined to form The Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her." Jaha spoke. "Next year, on the ground."

"Right, after we did all the work." Miller scoffed. "Someone shut him up."

"You shut up, Miller." Raven quipped. "No one's forcing you to watch."

I shoved my hands in my back pockets, shaking my head, listening to the rest of the speech. "For 97 years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth." Jaha continued.

I caressed the ring around my neck, my lips curling into a smile. "Someone's in a good mood." Bellamy chuckled, walking up behind me. He rubbed my shoulders before wrapping his arms around my neck.

I giggled, glancing up at him. "Unity Day was my dad's favorite holiday." I informed, clutching the ring. "Never knew why, he just loved it." I moved my hand from the ring to grip Bellamy's forearm. "It's the first Unity Day without him here."

Bellamy kissed my temple, caressing my collarbone. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

I turned my head to face him and pecked his lips. "Thanks." I replied.

Jasper came running from the shed near the wall, holding up a keg of freshly brewed moonshine. "Yeah, Monty strikes again!" he cheered. "Call this batch unity juice! Who's thirsty?"

I laughed as everyone gathered around, holding out their canteens. Jasper poured the moonshine and everyone drank it down.

"Happy Unity Day." Bellamy chuckled.

"Happy Unity Day." I repeated, leaning back into him.

"Well, if this is really gonna be a party, we need something to eat with that moonshine." Bellamy unhooked his arms from my neck. "I'll be back before dark."

I faced him, my fingers intertwined with his. "Be careful out there." I warned.

He leaned down and kissed me, wrapping one arm around my lower back. "Got it." he replied. "See you soon." he kissed me again before meeting up with the rest of the hunting party.

* * *

I headed to the drop ship, looking to get a little bit of work done before things really got rolling. Clarke came up beside me, her hands in her jacket pockets, "What's up?"

"Just organizing all these supplies." I answered. "It'll come in handy the next time one of us gets injured."

"I heard you talked to mom the other day." I glanced and saw the mixed emotions in my sister's eyes. "What'd she say?"

"That if all goes well, she'll be on the first ship down." I answered. "She misses us."

Clarke sighed "I don't know if I can face her." she admitted. "Not yet anyway."

I looped my arm through hers, pressing my forehead against her temple. "We're family." I reminded. "We need to stick together." I pursed my lips together, sighing. "It's what dad would want."

I pulled away and she looked at me. "How are you always so strong?" she questioned.

I kissed her forehead, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "So you don't have to be." I replied. "You let me worry about the tough things, I want you to enjoy our new life here on Earth." I gave her a smile and left the ship.

* * *

By the time the sun went down, nearly half the camp was nearly wasted or already wasted. Earlier in the day, the radio went out for some reason and it was still dead. I stood by the bonfire and looked around at everyone having a good time; my eyes catching my sister who was just sitting on the drop ship bridge.

I walked up to her and crossed my arms over my chest, giving her a look. "You do realize this is a party, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're supposed to be having fun."

"It's just, with the Grounders out there-" Clarke started to argue, but I held up my hand to cut her off.

"Like I said, let me worry about all that." I repeated, pulling her to her feet. "You, focus on being a normal teenage girl for a change. Party, live a little. Have a drink or two." I chuckled. "Because, like it or not, when mom comes down, we'll be turning the drop ship into a medical office and probably move in." I threw my arm around her shoulder. "Cut loose and have fun."

Clarke cracked a smile. "You're supposed to be setting good example for me, remember?" she quirked her brow. "Not telling me to cut loose."

I shrugged. "I won't tell mom if you won't." I noted, smiling.

"Okay." Clarke agreed. "One night won't hurt." she pecked my cheek and went off to grab a drink.

"Depends on how much you drink." I muttered, my eyes drifting over to where Bellamy was standing guard.

* * *

I walked up and joined him, watching the party from his view point. "Best Unity Day ever." he chuckled. "Having fun, Princess?"

I bit my lip nudged his arm, "I thought you were done calling me that." I chuckled, placing my hands on my hips. "You look pretty laid-back for security detail." I noted. "Sure it's wise? The Grounder is still out there."

"Grounders." Bellamy corrected, facing me. "By now, he's made it home. He's probably putting together a lynch mob as we speak."

"And yet you're still so casual." I reiterated.

"Relax, Ray." Bellamy assured, pulling me closer. "Why don't you go get a drink? You look like you could use one."

I rolled my eyes. "After everything we've been through so far, I could use more than just one." I admitted.

"Then have more than one." he encouraged, tilting my face up to meet his. "The Exodus ship carrying your mother comes down here in two days. After that, the party's over." he ran his finger down my jawline. "Have some fun while you still can." Bellamy kissed my temple. "You deserve it."

I smiled and glanced around camp, finding Clarke playing some sort of game with a few other kids. I nodded and met Bellamy's eyes. "You're right, I do deserve it." I agreed, "You only live once, right?"

Bellamy wrapped his arm around my waist, "That's the spirit." he praised.

I stood on my toes and captured his lips in a kiss, looping my arm under his and letting go of everything around me. Bellamy gripped the fabric of my shirt, slipping his tongue past my teeth, making me grip his shoulder. I pulled back and gasped, smiling at Bellamy.

"You deserve a little fun too." I pointed out.

"I'll have my fun when the Grounders come." he assured.

I shook my head and found Jasper among the crowd. I cupped my hands around my mouth, "Jasper!" I called, grabbing his attention. I held up two of my fingers, signaling him to bring me and Bellamy a drink. He nodded and poured two cups, bringing them over. "Thanks."

"Of course." Jasper replied, clinking his cup with ours before returning to whatever he was doing.

I held my drink out, "To new beginnings." I toasted.

"To new beginnings." he repeated, tapping his drink to mine. We shared a smile and tipped them back.

I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. Over where Jasper had a keg set up, there were a few kids around it, actually trying to do keg-stands.

"Cut loose and have some fun." Bellamy encouraged, kissing the top of my head.

"I told Clarke the same thing." I informed, looking up at him.

Bellamy chuckled, rubbing my shoulders. "Then follow your own advice."

I pecked his lips and slipped out of his arms, joining the keg-stand group. "Mind if I join in?"

Drew and Connor both gaped. Derek snickered. "Her highness is actually gonna party?" he questioned.

"I'm more than just a pretty face and skilled medical specialist." I reminded, smirking. "What's the record?"

"Thirteen seconds." Jasper answered. "It's Scarlet's record." he motioned to the strawberry blonde beside Drew.

"Think you can beat it, Princess Commander?" Scarlet challenged.

I shrugged off my jacket and set it by the keg. "You're on." I accepted.

"Oh, now this I gotta see." Drew chuckled, rubbing his hands together.

I grinned and gripped the handles of the keg, hoisting myself up to where I was perpendicular to it. "Hit me Jasper." I chuckled.

Jasper stuck the keg hose in my mouth and the moonshine streamed down my throat. I kept swallowing it down, clutching the handles. I heard Jasper count past thirteen and still held on. By the time he hit twenty, I swung my legs back and exhaled, holding my arms up victoriously.

"Hot damn." Connor gasped, his jaw falling slack.

Jasper slapped my shoulder in excitement. "New record!" he cheered. "I knew there was more to you."

I ran my fingers through my hair, "Well, as soon as those ships start landing, I'm not gonna be able to do all this." I motioned to the party going on around me. "Gotta get that teenage rebellion out while I can."

Jasper handed us each a shot, "Unity Day!" he cheered, and we all dumped the shots back, slamming the cups on the table.

* * *

For the first time since landing on Earth, I was actually enjoying myself. Someone grabbed my shoulders from behind. "Sorry fellas, I gotta talk to my sister for a minute." Clarke apologized, leading me away.

"Yes my dear, sweet sister?" I asked.

"Is she drunk?" Finn questioned, walking up to us.

I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm slightly tipsy at best." I rebuked, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "What's up?"

Clarke cast a glance at Finn. "I set up a meeting with the Grounders." he answered.

"A meeting?" I repeated. "With who? How?" I looked between Finn and Clarke.

Clarke sighed. "Apparently, he found the Grounder that was in the drop ship."

"His name's Lincoln." Finn added.

My jaw dropped. "He spoke to you?" I raised an eyebrow. "When the hell did all this happen?"

"It's not important." Finn cut in. "If we want to live in peace,

"We can't live in peace with people who've done nothing but kill us." I cut off.

"That's what I told him." Clarke agreed.

"Can either of you think of a better way to stop the bloodshed?" Finn asked, looking between my sister and I.

Clarke looked at her feet. "Yeah." I answered. "With the guns that the Guard bring down."

Finn's eyes widened. "You really want a war?" he questioned. "Because at this rate, that's what's coming."

"Finn has a point too." Clarke agreed, turning to face me. "I know it's a long shot, but this is our world now too."

Finn sighed. "I think we can do better than the first time around." he added, glancing at Clarke before looking at me. "I trust him."

"I don't." I admitted. "He was willing to let you die Finn." I reminded.

"I say we give it a shot." Clarke voted, making us look at her. She met my eyes, "What do you say, Ray?"

I saw she was willing to go through with this meeting, and her eyes were pleading with me to agree. I sighed, "Fine, I'll go with you two." I caved. "But, we should bring backup."

"No way. We're not bringing guns." Finn rejected.

"If we're gonna do this, we need to give it a fair shot." Clarke agreed.

Again, I saw the look in her eyes and sighed. "Okay. Clarke grab your gear, I need some water to sober up and I'll meet you two by the gate."

"Got it." Clarke nodded and went towards our tent.

Finn grabbed my wrist, "Thanks for agreeing to this Rayleigh." he said. "Lincoln said it would be best if our 'Princess Commander' was the one who came to the meeting."

"Now even the Grounders know about that." I muttered. "Guess I've got no choice now." I sighed, "I'll meet you at the gate." I walked off and weaved through the crowds, finding Bellamy at his post.

* * *

I jogged up to him, grabbing his shoulder, "Hey Bellamy, I need to talk to you." I called, stopping him.

"What's going on Ray?" he asked.

"Finn's set up a meeting with the Grounders." I informed. "I'm leaving with him and Clarke to go talk to their leader."

"Because you figure that impaling people on spears is code for "let's be friends"?" Bellamy replied, sarcastically. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

"Look, they made some valid points, it might be worth a shot." I defended. "We do have to live with these people now. Wouldn't you like it better if we didn't have to worry about them attacking us every time we stepped foot outside that wall?"

Bellamy shook his head. "They'll probably gut you, string you up as a warning for the rest of us."

"Well, that's why I'm here." I clarified. "I need you to follow us, be our backup." I glanced out at camp and saw Clarke join Finn.

"Do they know about this?" Bellamy questioned.

I met his eyes, shaking my head. "They don't need to know." I answered, taking Bellamy's hand. "Bring guns."

He nodded and kissed my forehead, "I'll be close behind." he promised. "I won't let anything happen to you."

I gave him a genuine smile and ran to the tent I shared with Clarke, grabbing my gear. I stuffed my bow inside and made sure my arrows weren't visible; I also shoved some of those hallucinogenic nuts into the front pocket, just to make sure Bellamy and the back up could follow us. I met Finn and Clarke by the gate and we headed out. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw Bellamy duck into the communications tent. I dropped the nuts ever few yards or so.

* * *

We were a little over halfway to the meeting point by the time the sun came up. As we slid down a steep hill, Finn winced and leaned against a nearby tree. Clarke took a look at the wound. It was in the early stages of healing, but he was also at risk to reopen it as well.

"Seriously, Finn." I sighed. "You're putting a lot of faith in a guy who stuck a knife if you."

Finn looked over at me, "Now you're sounding more and more like Bellamy." he pointed out.

"She's just trying to keep us alive." Clarke defended.

"So am I." Finn replied, moving forward.

I shook my head and followed him with Clarke right beside me. Eventually we came to a bridge, where Octavia was waiting. Now things were beginning to make sense. Clarke turned to Finn, "So that's how you set this up." she noted. "You helped him escape, didn't you?" she asked Octavia.

"I trust him." Octavia defended.

"There's a lot of that going around." I muttered, adjusting my pack.

A rustling sounded not too far off. "Someone's coming." Finn noted, making all of us look across the bridge.

The Grounder that we had captured a few days earlier came from the forest on the other side, running towards us. Octavia ran to greet him, throwing herself into his arms. Clarke reached down and took my hand, her eyes never leaving the opposite end of the bridge. I glanced down and saw Bellamy, Raven, and Jasper waiting in the brush.

"Listen." Clarke whispered.

My eyes shifted back and out of the woods came two beautiful black horses, each being ridden by a Grounder in full armor. A third horse came from the forest, a brown one with white on the bridge of its nose; it's rider was a female warrior with chestnut colored skin and dark blonde hair.

"Horses." Clarke gasped. "They're beautiful." I nodded in agreement.

"Wait." Finn halted, moving to stand beside Octavia and Lincoln. "We said no weapons."

As I looked closer, I saw the two Grounders on the black horses had bows, while the woman had a sword on her hip. I glanced at Clarke, who was putting on a strong face, I squeezed her hand reassuringly. We stepped forward together, hands grasping one another's.

The woman Grounder dismounted her horse and approached us, we met in the center of the bridge. "Which one of you is the one called Princess Commander?" she asked.

I took one step forward. "That would be me." I answered. "My name's Rayleigh." I motioned to my sister behind me. "This is Clarke, my younger sister."

The woman looked us over, her face void of any readable emotion. "I'm Anya." she introduced.

"Nice to meet you." I replied, holding my hand out. Anya looked down at it, and I pulled back. "Okay." I muttered, clearing my throat. "Look, I think we got off to a rough start." I admitted. "But we want to find a way to live together in peace." I glanced back at Finn, Octavia, and Lincoln before meeting Anya's eyes again.

Her dark brown eyes, masked by black paint, seemed to be studying me, as if she was looking into my own soul. "I understand." she stated. "You started a war that you don't know how to end."

"A war?" I repeated.

"What? No." Clarke rebuked. "We didn't start anything." she stepped up beside me. "You attacked us for no reason."

"No reason?" Anya questioned, looking at Clarke. "The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground."

"Those weren't missiles." I corrected, making her look back to me. "Those were flares. It was a signal meant for our families on The Ark." I clarified, keeping my composure. "We had no idea-"

"You're invaders." Anya accused. "Your ship landed in our territory."

"We didn't know anyone was here." I defended, standing my ground. "We thought Earth was uninhabited."

"You knew were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him." Anya noted. I bit my lip, she did have a point on that front. "These are all acts of war."

"I see your point." I agreed. "And I apologize for those actions, on behalf of my people." A breeze blew by, making my hair flow behind me. "So we can avoid future bloodshed on both sides, we need to put an end to all of this."

Anya lifted her head, her eyes never leaving mine. "Lincoln said there are more of you coming down." she said. "Warriors."

"The Guard, yes." I confirmed. "But also farmers, doctors, engineers." I added. "We can help each other but not if we're at war."

"Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us?" she asked. "That they'll respect the terms you and I agree on?"

I looked out at the forest for a brief second before meeting her eyes once more. "I promise I will do everything I can to convince them to honor the terms that we set here today." I answered, hoping it sounded more political than I thought.

The Grounder before me shook her head, "Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?" she questioned.

"If you fire the first shot, those people coming down won't bother negotiating." I replied, standing firm. "With the technology they have at their disposal, they will wipe you out." I spoke the truth.

"They wouldn't be the first to try." Anya challenged. She continued to stare at me, the corner of her lips curling into a smile of some kind. "I have to give you credit, Rayleigh of the Sky People, you have a warrior's spirit, and the strength and will of a commander."

I blinked in surprise, a bit shocked that she complemented me. "I'll take that as a compliment I guess." I replied, swallowing.

Before another word could be spoken, I heard Jasper yell "Run!" as he jumped from the brush and started firing his rifle. A Grounder fell from one of the trees and all hell broke loose. I pushed Clarke back and started running to our end of the bridge, digging out my bow. I skidded to a halt, placed an arrow in the bowstring, pulled back and fired, striking one of the Grounder archers on horseback.

"Rayleigh!" Clarke called.

I spun around, "Clarke, get back!" I yelled, running towards her. An arrow hit me in the left thigh and I hit the ground, biting back a scream. Stones crunched from behind me and I whipped around to see Anya, blade brandished, heading right for me. A shot went off and she retreated, grasping at her right shoulder. I looked down and saw Bellamy lower his rifle.

"Ray, get up." Clarke panted, lifting me from the ground. I moved one pace and nearly fell again. "Lean on me, c'mon." Clarke urged, helping me limp to the forest.

I let out a painful cry and leaned against a tree, panting. I gripped my thigh and felt blood running down both sides, meaning the arrow actually went through my thigh. "Can you run?" Clarke asked.

I shook my head. "No, my left leg's shot until I get this arrow out." I answered, taking deep breaths.

"Let's go, I think they're following." Jasper urged, running past us.

Bellamy stopped next to me, seeing my blood-soaked pants. He slung the rifle behind him and wrapped his arm around my waist, "Hang on, I've got ya." he promised.

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck. Bellamy scooped me up in his arms carrying me bridal-style as he ran after the others. I had to grip the collar of his guard's jacket to avoid screaming in pain.

* * *

It was a little past sundown when we came back to camp. I slipped out of Bellamy's arms and sat on a log, regulating my breathing. I broke off part of the arrow and grabbed a few gauze pads from my pack. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the arrowhead and pulled the remaining arrow from my thigh, pressing gauze to the wound.

"Rayleigh." Clarke gasped, sitting next to me. "Oh God."

"It'll be okay." I assured. "Octavia, grab a torch." She nodded and went to grab one of the torches near the gate.

All this while, Finn was glaring at Bellamy. "You got something to say?" he questioned, catching his breath.

"Yeah, I told you no guns." Finn reminded, looking at Clarke and me.

"I had no idea they were there." Clarke defended.

Octavia held the torch beside me and I pulled my knife from the holster, shoving the blade into the flame. "Don't bite her head off Finn, it was my idea." I cut in, making him look directly at me. "I told you we couldn't trust the Grounders and I was right." I motioned to my wound.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven asked, slapping Finn's arm.

"I tried, but you were too busy making bullets for your gun." Finn replied.

"You're lucky she brought that!" Bellamy argued. "They came there to kill you, Finn."

"You don't know that." Finn yelled back. "Jasper fired the first shot!"

Octavia set the torch on the ground. "You ruined everything." she scoffed, before heading back into camp.

"I saved you!" Jasper called back. "You're welcome."

"Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now." Finn noted, looking down at me.

I pulled my blade from the fire and set the heated blade on the wound in my inner thigh, biting my lip as it cauterized. I did the same to the entrance wound, fisting the fabric of my pants. I sighed in relief after the pain subsided, standing up.

"How could you Rayleigh?" Clarke asked, her eyes full of disappointment.

"I told you, I don't trust the Grounders." I replied.

"You didn't have to trust the Grounders. Or Finn for that matter." she noted. "You just had to trust me."

"I trust you Clarke." I admitted. "More than anyone. But, I'm also your older sister, it's my job to look out for you." I took a limping step closer. "I'll always do what I think is the best course to make sure nothing happens to you."

I went to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away. "Maybe you should back off and let me take care of myself." she scoffed, turning her back on me and heading back into camp.

Finn shook his head, tossing Bellamy a vile of some sort. "That's from Lincoln, just in case that arrow was poisoned." he informed, passing Bellamy on his way into camp. "Make sure Ray drinks it."

I sighed heavily, wiping the tears from my eyes. Bellamy stood next to me, handing over the vial. "Drink up." he advised. "Better safe than sorry."

I took the vial and gulped it down, and man it tasted rotten and sour. I recoiled at the after taste. "Like I said, best Unity Day ever." Bellamy muttered. I shook my head and scoffed, laying my head on his shoulder.

A sound almost like a sonic boom resonated, making both of us turn and look up at the sky. "The Exodus ship?" Bellamy questioned. "Your mom's early."

I nodded, "You're right." I agreed. The ball of light that could be the ship was falling fast, way too fast. "No parachute?" I questioned, as it flew over a nearby ridge. "Something's wrong."

I followed the ship as it disappeared behind the treeline. A second later there was an explosion and a huge dust cloud rose over the forest. My breath hitched in my throat and my legs buckled from underneath me. My brain screaming _"No, it can't be."_


	11. I Am Become Death

**I Am Become Death**

* * *

The crash site looked like a bomb was detonated right in the middle of the forest. Metal and body parts were scattered all over the crater. The bodies that were intact, however, were nothing more than charred skeletons, no way to discern who was who. The only thing I was certain of was this, my mother was gone.

"Stay sharp." Bellamy ordered the other gunners he brought along with the search party. "Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when."

"Can you blame them?" Finn asked.

"No." Bellamy rebuked. "I blame you."

"Maybe if you didn't bring guns-" Finn started to say.

"If we didn't bring guns, we all would've been killed." Raven cut him off, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore. It's our job to be ready when they do." Bellamy reminded. "We're on our own now."

I clutched the ring dangling around my neck tightly, biting back the urge to break down. Bellamy walked up next to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "There's nothing left." I muttered, shaking my head, my hair blowing in the wind. "And with the fire from the explosion, I can't even tell which of these bodies is hers."

"Hey." Bellamy whispered, wrapping me in his arms, his chin on the back of my head. "I'm so sorry." he kissed the top of my head. "I'm here for you."

I leaned back into him, taking a deep breath and exhaling, "Thanks." I replied, looking up at him. I turned around so I was facing him and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder. His arms tightened around my back in response. I breathed a sigh and pulled away, wiping the moisture from my eyes. "Okay."

"You sure you're okay?" Bellamy asked. "You don't have to be here."

"Yes I do." I nodded, watching Clarke as she looked around the area. "She may still be angry about yesterday, but we're all each other has now." She looked up and our eyes met for a moment, before she turned away and checked out the ship's rockets.

"Yeah, she still hates me." I noted, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Can't blame her though, I did go behind her back."

"You were just doing what you thought was best for her." Bellamy reminded, pulling me close, smoothing out my wind-blown hair.

I licked my lips and nodded, "I know that, but in Clarke's mind, I didn't fully trust her." I sighed. "We're supposed to be the person the other trusts, no questions asked."

"Clarke will come around." Bellamy assured, rubbing my upper back.

"Fire in the hole!" Raven announced, getting everyone's attention. She tossed a small stone over the wreckage and a small explosion occurred. "We need to clear the area."

My eyes widened in shock. Bellamy cleared his throat, "Ok, then. We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot!" he called. "We got to get back before dark."

* * *

We didn't return to camp until the next day, and we were in for a surprise when Sterling told us that Murphy was in the drop ship being guarded by Connor and Derek. Bellamy, Finn, Clarke, and I entered the drop ship, and I covered my mouth to suppress the gasp when I saw Murphy's condition. Others were in the ship as well

"Everyone but Connor and Derek out." Bellamy ordered. "Now!" everyone left.

"He claims he was with the Grounders." Derek informed.

"We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor added.

"I wasn't sneaking." Murphy corrected. "I was running from the Grounders."

"Anyone see Grounders?" Bellamy asked. Both Derek and Connor shook their heads. "Well, in that case..." Bellamy held his rifle ready to shoot Murphy.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Finn interjected.

"We were clear what would happen if he came back." Bellamy reminded.

"If he was with the Grounders, then he knows things that can help us." Finn argued.

"Help us?" Bellamy questioned. "We hanged banished him, and now we're gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way."

Clarke stepped forward, kneeling next to Murphy. "Finn's right." she looked over her shoulder at me. "He's obviously hurt, Ray."

If I didn't help, that would only make her hate me further. So, I swallowed my emotions and knelt down beside her, looking up at Derek. "In the red bag under the table there's a small pen light, get it for me." I motioned to the table where my medical supplies was sitting, and Derek did as I asked.

Bellamy scoffed. "Rayleigh, think about Charlotte."

"I am thinking about her." I replied, glancing back at him, seeing his eyes burning with anger. "But what happened to Charlotte was as much our fault as his." Derek handed me the pen light and I shone it on his wounds.

"Well, he's not lying." Clarke sighed, showing me Murphy's hand.

"His fingernails were torn off." I noted, shining the light in Murphy's face, making him recoil. "He was probably kept somewhere dark, maybe underground. Some of these wounds look infected." I shook my head. "They tortured him."

"You and the Grounders should compare notes." I heard Finn mutter.

"The Grounders know we're at war." Bellamy reminded. "What did you tell them about us?"

Murphy looked past me and Clarke, right at Bellamy. "Everything."

I lowered my head, standing up. I ran my hands over my hair, turning to face Bellamy. "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, ok?" I proposed.

"What if he refuses to leave?" Bellamy questioned. "What do we do with him then?"

I looked back at Murphy. Despite his wounded state, what he did was still in play. I turned back to Bellamy. "Then you can kill him." I answered, exiting the ship and heading for my tent.

* * *

I leaned against the makeshift end table, feeling disoriented. My mouth suddenly felt dry and I reached for my canteen, gulping down some water. When I went to feel my cheeks, I felt something warm and wet underneath my eyes. I looked down at my fingers and saw blood. "Oh damn." I muttered, wiping the bloody tears with a cloth. I grabbed my small, black medical bag and exited my tent.

Derek sat by the fire pit and started coughing and his nose started to bleed. Then he suddenly collapsed, freaking out the group around him. "Get him in the drop ship, now!" I ordered, wiping my nose with my sleeve. I bolted for the ship, fighting the waves of dizziness hitting me with every step.

"Murphy!" I called, storming into the ship, and I saw him puke up a bloody substance. I ran over and knelt behind him. "Murphy, hey, look at me." I snapped my fingers, making him look at me. "I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the Grounders."

Clarke barged in, "Tell us what happened." she ordered.

"I don't know." Murphy replied. "I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off."

My shoulders sank as I shook my head, standing up. "They let you go." I deducted.

Clarke looked at me, "You thinkg this is for-" she was cut off when Bellamy burst into the ship.

"Bellamy, stay back." I halted, holding my arm out.

"Did he do something to you?" Bellamy asked, glarig at Murphy. "What the hell is this?"

"Biological warfare." I answered, as Derek and Connor walked into the ship.

"You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it." Clarke noted.

"Murphy's the weapon." I added, looking at the banished, beaten kid.

Bellamy's expression hardened as he glared at Murphy. "Is this your revenge, helping the Grounders kill us?" he accused.

I wiped some of the crusted blood from Murphy's facial wounds, fighting the dizzy spells. "I didn't know about this, ok, I swear." Murphy defended.

"Stop lying." Bellamy yelled. "When are they coming?"

"Murphy, think, all right? What can you tell us that's useful?" Clarke asked. "Did you hear anything?"

"They are vicious." Murphy muttered. "Cruel."

"You want to see vicious?" Bellamy threatened.

I stood up between him and Murphy. "Hey, don't." I halted. "Whatever this virus is, it spreads through contact."

Finn ran into the drop ship, asking for Clarke. "Finn, you shouldn't be in here." she scolded.

"No one should." I added, leaning against the ladder fighting the fatigue.

"I heard you were sick." Finn told Clarke. He looked around, "What is this?"

I shook my head. "By the symptoms I see so far," I started, looking at Finn and Bellamy, "my best diagnosis would be some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-" I was cut off when Derek rolled on his stomach and started retching. "before that happens." I slid past the two boys and knelt by Derek as his coughing ceased.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Connor asked.

Derek stopped coughing and his body laid still on the floor. "Is he?" Bellamy questioned, eyes wide.

I put two fingers to his neck and felt nothing. "He's dead." I announced, standing up. I wiped the blood running from my nose, reaching for a container of moonshine, turning back to the others. "Hold out your hands, both of you." I ordered, which they complied to. I dumped some of the alcohol onto their hands.

"What do we do Rayleigh?" Clarke asked, walking up to me.

"Quarantine, round up everyone who had contact with Murphy." I answered, turning to Bellamy and Finn. "Bring them here."

"And everyone they had contact with?" Bellamy questioned.

"Well, we have to start somewhere." I told him, walking over to Connor, who was laying in a corner. "Connor, who as with you when you found him?" I asked. "Who carried Murphy into camp? Think."

Connor coughed, wiping the blood from his nose. "The first one there was Octavia." he answered.

After hearing that Bellamy rushed out of the drop ship. I grabbed a stack of cloths from the red medical duffle and passed them out to everyone who was sick. I kept one over my mouth, fighting the symptoms.

"Ray, you shouldn't be in here either." Clarke noted, leaning against the wall by the table. "You'll get sick too."

If only she knew. I turned to look at her, noting the burst blood vessles under her eyes. "Someone has to take care of all of you." I reminded. "You can barely stand and keep your eyes open." I lightly pressed my hand to her forehead. "You're feaverish, lay down." I helped ease her to the floor.

"Rayleigh." Bellamy called, leading Octavia into the ship. "Is she sick too?"

"Give me a sec." I grabbed the pen light and motioned for Octavia to come towards me. I handed Bellamy a rag to cover his face so he wouldn't breath the air. Using the light I looked over Octavia, covering my nose and mouth with the cloth. "Okay." I sighed, lowering my pen light. "We're done. No visible signs of swelling or bleeding."

"So you're saying she doesn't have it?" Bellamy asked, lowering the cloth.

"I'm saying she doesn't have symptoms, but that could change." I answered. "We need to keep her here just in case." I leaned against the ladder leading to the upper leveles.

"No way." Bellamy rebuked. "Look at this place. She'll get sick just being here." he motioned to the crowd of people laying on the first level.

"Do you want to stop the spread, or not?" I questioned, meeting Bellamy's eyes. "I'll keep her on the third level with the people who aren't symptomatic yet."

"Think of it as a way to stop her from sneaking out again." Clarke added, joining us, barely standing straight.

"Screw you, Clarke." Octavia quipped.

I sighed. "I'll let you know if her condition changes." I promised Bellamy, walking with him out of the ship.

He nodded. "Are you sure you should be in here?" he asked me as we stood by the drawbridge. "Won't you get sick?"

I shook my head, hating that I was lying right to his face. "This virus is hitting Clarke like a freight train, she can't tend to all those people by herself." I pointed out. "I know what percautions to take to avoid getting sick. I'll be fine." I assured. "Go."

He kissed the side of my head before leaving. I pulled the cloth away and noticed a bloodstain. The dizziness and fatigue were only getting worse, but I pushed through, because if I went down, we were all screwed.

I leaned against the table, dumping more water from my canteen down my throat. I shrugged off my jacket and laid it down, catching my breath. Clarke moved to stand next to me, "I sent Octavia to get the cure." she told me.

I glanced at her, "Guess you read my mind." I replied. "I was gonna ask her the same thing, even though Bellamy wouldn't approve."

"If there is one, she'll get it." Clarke assured.

I took another rag and soaked it in the water bucket, wringing it out. "Here, put this on your forehead, it should help keep the feaver at bay." I advised.

"I know what to do." she replied, taking the cloth. "You weren't the only one who watched mom do her work." Clarke walked off, checking on the others who were sick.

Not far from me, Scarlet was laying on her back. The next second she lurched up and started coughing, blood comming from her mouth. Before I could get to her and help, she was already gone.

"Damnit." I cursed, rubbing my eyes with the knuckles of my thumbs. "That's two."

* * *

Two people carried Scarlet out of the ship and laid her body next to Derek's. I stood by the end of the draw bridge, shaking my head.

"All right, show's over!" Bellamy yelled. "Get back to your posts." He walked up to me, keeping a few inches between us. "You got enough food in there?" he asked. "And water?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we're good." I answered. "Although, some decent medicine might be nice." I chuckled. "I have some bark in my tent that could help with the fever. If you could mix it with some boiling water, that would be a big help."

Bellamy tucked some hair behind my ear, caressing my jawline. "I'll see what I can do, okay." he told me.

I nodded, "Great, thanks." I pulled away and walked back towards the drop ship.

"Octavia, you ok?" Bellamy called, making me stop in my tracks.

He started making his way to the ship, but Clarke stopped him. 'Bellamy, wait. She's not here." she informed. "I sent her to see Lincoln." I glanced between her and him, seeing the anger welling up. "If there's a cure, he has it. I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't let her go." Clarke added.

"If anything happens to her, you and me are gonna have problems." Bellamy threatened, heading to the gate.

"Bellamy." I called after him. "Bellamy!"

He didn't answer, but he did stop short of the gate. The people standing guard pulled their guns out and aimed them at one of the other kids, who was bleeding from his eyes. As he made his way inside the ship, Fox suddenly collapsed and coughed up blood, which spewed onto a couple others. Chaos erupted as guns were being pointed in all directions.

I ducked into the drop ship and grabbed Connor's gun, marching down the drawbridge and firing off a few rounds into the air. The chaos halted as everyone looked at me. "This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don't you see that?" I looked out at everyone. "They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first."

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus." said one of the gunners, pointing his rifle at me. "Get back in the damn drop ship."

Bellamy took the front of the rifle and forced the end into the other guy's face, knocking him to the ground. He met my eyes. "Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." he noted.

Clarke put her hand to her forehead before nearly collapsing onto the ground, but Finn caught her in time. He scooped her up and supported her. She looked at me, the skin around her eyes dark from the burst blood vessles. "Octavia will come back with a cure."

"There is no cure." Octavia announced as she walked back into camp, everyone looking at her. "But the Grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really?" Bellamy challenged. "Tell that to them." he motioned to Derek's and Scarlet's bodies. "I warned you about seeing that Grounder again."

"Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too." Octavia replied, standing firm against her big brother. "The Grounders are coming! And they're attacking at first light." She shoved past Bellamy and helped Finn get Clarke back into the drop ship.

I ran my fingers over my hair, exhaling heavily. I found Raven, and looked directly at her, "How many bullets can you make by first light?" I asked.

"As many as possible." Raven answered.

I nodded and that's when everything started spinning. Weirdly enough, I heard my heartbeat in my ears and my legs gave out from under me. Before I was flat on the ground, I felt someone's arms around my upper back. Looking up I saw Bellamy staring down at me, worry in his eyes. "Ray, you okay?"

To answer his question, I rolled onto my stomach, supporting myself on my hands and knees, as I vomited up blood, heaving and gasping. I fell backwards into Bellamy's chest, panting.

"How long have you been sick?" Bellamy asked, supporting me. "Rayleigh."

I looked up into his eyes and swallowed. "Before Derek became symptomatic." I answered honestly, placing the cloth over my mouth as I coughed, blood soaking the rag.

Bellamy cradled me against him. "You've been sick all along and still you pushed yourself?" he questioned.

"Someone has to help them." I reminded. "Just because I'm down, doesn't mean I'm out." I sat up, gasping for breath before laying my head on Bellamy's shoulder.

"Okay, that's it. I'm getting you inside." Bellamy lifted me off the ground, holding me close. "From now on, you rest and let met worry about everyone else."

I kept one arm wrapped around his neck, while the one holding my bloody cloth remained on my stomach. "You need to save yourselves." I rebuked. "Just leave camp. Take anyone healthy enough with you."

"If you think that's even a possibility, you don't know me very well." Bellamy argued, touching his forehead to mine.

I gazed into those deep brown eyes that made my heart skip a beat. "I know you." I replied.

Bellamy smiled, "Then you'd know I'd never leave." he held me close as he ran into the drop ship, laying me on a pile of blankets by a hammock that Clarke was laying in.

He leaned against the ladder, shrugging his Guard's jacket off and draping it over my shoulders, brushing my hair to the side. I felt a cold, damp rag placed on my forehead and I sighed in relief, my eyes fluttering open.

"Clarke says they all need to stay hydrated." Octavia informed.

"Also make sure if they start coughing, roll them on their sides." I added, sitting up.

Bellamy handed me his open canteen. "Worry about yourself." he told me. "You're burning up."

I gulped down the water, sighing in relief. "It's my body's way of fighting the viral infection." I noted, leaning against him. "You should get out Bellamy." I advised, looking up at him, holding his hand that was on my shoulder. "Only one of us can die from this."

He shook his head, "You're not going to die." he stated, dabbing my forehead with the damp cloth. "You're not allowed to die, Rayleigh. We need you." I laid my head on his shoulder, panting.

"At this rate, when the Grounders get here, there won't be anyone left to fight back." I heard Murphy say.

"That's the point." Octavia replied.

"Then we slow them down." Finn threw out.

Bellamy moved and laid me down, replacing the cloth on my forehead. "Don't die on me Rayleigh." he whispered. I felt him kiss the top of my head, "I need you." and then everything fell silent around me.

* * *

When I came to, Octavia was kneeling next to me, dabbing a cold rag on my face. "Hey Ray." she said in a low voice.

I gave her a gentle smile, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Thanks Octavia." I replied, sitting up. "How's everyone doing?"

"So far no one else has died." she answered. "So that's good."

I nodded, grabbing my bloodied cloth and coughed into it, struggling to catch my breath. Octavia rubbed my back and handed me the canteen Bellamy left for me. "Here, drink." she offered.

After I caught my breath, I took a gulp of water, breathing heavily. "Damn, this virus is kicking my ass." I muttered.

"Just rest Ray." Octavia urged, helping me lay down. "Bellamy would never forgive me if I let you die."

I looked up and saw her smile, brushing my hair from my face. Someone called to make room and Octavia's head whipped to the drop ship entrance, and her eyes widened. "Bell." she muttered.

I handed her the canteen of water, "Here, give him this." I told her. "Take care of your brother." Octavia nodded and ran to Bellamy. I sighed heavily, feeling so fatigued that it was hard to keep my eyes open.

I turned my head and saw Clarke resting in the hammock, her chest rising and falling steadily. I reached up and took her hand, which stirred her awake. "How're you feeling?" I asked her, genuinely concerned.

"Better." she answered. "Octavia's right, the virus passes fast."

"Good." I sighed, taking deep, slow breaths. I squeezed her hand, "Look, I'm sorry about the bridge incident."

"Why did you ask Bellamy to bring guns and backup?" she asked, her eyes reflecting hurt and betrayal. "We're supposed to trust each other, no questions."

"I do trust you." I confirmed. "That goes without saying. It's the Grounders I don't trust." my eyes never wavered from hers. "I was looking out for you. Keeping my promise to dad and mom."

"Don't Ray." Clarke cut off, tears falling from her eyes. "Just, don't." she turned her head away from me, pulling her hand from mine and draping it over her chest.

I felt something warm run down my cheeks, I reached up to wipe it away and discovered they were more blood tears. The noises dulled around me and the fatigue took over once more.

* * *

The next time I woke up, people were entering the drop ship, rags covering their mouths and noses. "What the hell?" I muttered, looking around. I saw that Clarke wasn't in her bed and neither was Bellamy. I sat up and used the ladder to help me to my feet.

"Rayleigh." Bellamy called, maneuvering his way toward me. He caught me as I fell forward. "Hey Ray, talk to me. You feeling better?"

"Yeah, a little." I answered. "What's going on?" I asked.

"We're moving the rest of the camp to the upper levels of the drop ship." he replied. "Just in case Finn and Jasper fail at the bridge." He threw my arm around his shoulders and helped me out of the ship.

"You don't think they'll pull it off?" I questioned, leaning against him.

"Why, do you?" He looked down at me.

I shrugged. "I have faith they'll come through for us." I answered.

About two minutes after I said that, an explosion sounded in the distance. A huge dust cloud rose above the treeline, in the direction of the bridge.

"They did it." Clarke sighed.

I nodded, my lips curling into a smile. "I am become death, destroyer of worlds." I muttered. I glanced up at Bellamy, who raised an eyebrow. "It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first-"

"I know who Oppenheimer is." Bellamy cut off.

"Right." I licked my lips, laying my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my back, pulling my close.

* * *

After Finn, Raven, Jasper, and Monty came back, people who were originally sick were slowly getting better. Raven, on the other hand, had caught the virus and resting the hammock. I decided it best that I continue to recover in my tent, then maybe I could give my body the rest it needed.

"Guess my faith was well placed." I chuckled as Bellamy laid me on my bed. "They pulled it off. That explosion should delay the Grounders' attacks for a few days."

Bellamy chuckled, shaking his head. "I agree with you on that, but right now, you just focus on kicking the rest of that virus from your system." he told me, brushing my hair from my face. "We need you back at one-hundred percent."

I met his eyes, "You do realize I helped my mom during that Strep outbreak a few years back. The both of us were recovering while we were treating others." I went to sit up, but Bellamy pushed me back down.

"Ray, if you would've held off any longer, the virus might've killed you." he sighed. "We need you to live. So, I'm not leaving this tent until you fall asleep." he draped a cold rag on my forehead.. "I need you to live, got it."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got it." I confirmed, looking up into his eyes. I reached up and cupped his cheek.

Bellamy leaned down and kissed me, his hand reaching behind my head and holding me up closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing back. I still held onto him as he pulled away, touching my forehead to his.

"We need to talk about Murphy." I threw out, meeting Bellamy's eyes. "He was right about the bridge."

"We'll see." Bellamy sighed, laying me back down "Octavia says the Mountain Men are pissed, whatever that means."

"I'd say it means we need as many soldiers as we can get." I interpreted, interlacing our fingers together.

"So, what?" he questioned, "We have pardon power now?"

"It's hard running things." I pointed out. "We give him a second chance, but one screw up and he's back out on his own."

"I'll keep an eye on him." Bellamy voted, kissing my knuckles. He caresses my forehead. "Get some rest Ray." he planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Night Bellamy." I replied, giving him a smile before closing my eyes. The exhaustion of fighting this virus finally took it's toll and I instantly drifted off to sleep.


	12. The Calm

**The Calm**

* * *

It's been two days since the virus hit the camp and everyone was back to normal. Of course, just to be safe, Bellamy was strict about round the clock watches and patrols. I've spent the past two days disinfecting the drop ship, all three levels. Luckily for me, Fox and Harper agreed to help.

Using the makeshift mop, courtesy of Murphy if you can believe it, I scrubbed every inch of the first level, making sure the metal was free of lingering blood stains. I heard the curtain to the drop ship blow open, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Harper, first watch is over." Bellamy announced, as Harper came down from the third level of the ship. "Go relieve Monroe on the south wall."

"Got it." Harper confirmed, grabbing her rifle from the table near me. "See ya Princess Commander." she gave me a smile before leaving.

"Keep your eyes open." Bellamy warned, passing her on his way to me.

"Anything?" I asked, scrubbing a section of the wall.

Bellamy shook his head. "It's been two days." he reminded.

I shrugged. "Well, maybe the bomb at the bridge scared them off for good." I replied, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.

"You believe that?" he questioned.

I sighed, leaning against the metal table where my medical supplies rested. "No." I admitted, glancing at Bellamy. "The Grounders are gonna come for us. Just a matter of when." I rubbed my temples. "Any news from Jasper or Raven? I heard they're working on some things."

Bellamy sighed. "Jasper thinks he can cook up some more gunpowder, if he gets some sulfur." he answered. "And Raven says she can turn that into landmines. So be careful where you step if you go outside the wall."

"Go Raven, way to be thorough." I chuckled. "Remind me never to piss her off."

He nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around my back. "What I really need is 1,000 more of her tin can bombs I can roll into their village and blow those Grounders to hell." his eyes narrowed slightly. I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's what they want to do to us."

I slipped out of his arm and continued cleaning the back corners of the ship. "I can't believe we survived 100 years of war just so we could slaughter each other." I sighed, flipping my ponytail back. "There has to be another way." I looked back over my shoulder at him. "Any word from the Ark?"

He shook his head, "I asked Clarke that earlier and she said it's still dead silence." his shoulders sank.

I shuddered, sniffling. "Finally ran out of air I guess." I muttered. My mind instantly jumped back to the Exodus ship, and my hand reached up to caress the ring. "Maybe my mom was lucky, being on the Exodus ship." I bit my lip. "At least it was quick."

Bellamy walked up behind me, rubbing my arms. I held back the emotions and tossed the bucket of moonshine onto the floor, cleaning the last section. "Like you said, we're on our own." I sighed, pursing my lips together. "No one's coming down to save us."

"Hey, look at me." Bellamy whispered, turning me to face him. "We're gonna get through this. Don't you start giving up." he cupped my cheek, caressing it with his thumb.

I turned my face into his palm. "I'm not giving up." I rebuked. "I'm just facing the facts."

Before either one of us could say anything, we both heard a small explosion, followed by people yelling. "Whoa! Guys! Fire!" in overlapping voices.

"Fire?" I repeated.

"Octavia was working in the smokehouse." Bellamy muttered, taking off out of the ship.

"Never a dull day on Earth." I scoffed, running after him.

* * *

I could see the burning smokehouse from the drop ship drawbridge, hell I'm pretty sure the Grounders could see the smoke from wherever they were. I ran through the crowd to see if anyone near the smokehouse was injured. Thankfully no one was, but all of our meat was way over done.

Once the commotion cleared, I walked up to Bellamy who was inspecting what remained of the smokehouse. "Any idea what happened?" I asked, my hands on my hips.

Bellamy sighed, glancing over his shoulder at me "Murphy says that Del kept feeding the fire," he answered, before looking back at the charred wood and bones. "mostly because Octavia told him it was a bad idea."

"And we believe Murphy?" I questioned.

Bellamy nodded, standing up. "I do." he replied.

"Clarke and I checked the rations in the ship." I informed. "We have some wild onions, nuts, and berries, but it's only enough to last us maybe one or two weeks. Anything left here?"

He shook his head and kicked a burnt log. "Nope." he grunted. "It all burned."

I tapped the toe of my combat boot on the ground, biting my lip. "Then we've got no other choice. We have to hunt." I threw out, making Bellamy look right in my eyes. "Anyone we can spare goes out."

He grabbed my arm as I turned to leave. "With the whole Grounder army out there?" he questioned.

"Bellamy, we won't be able to defend ourselves if we're starving to death." I pointed out. "We'll put together small hunting parties, and to be safe we tell them to be back by sundown."

Bellamy kissed my forehead. "Now you're thinking like a leader." he complimented. "I think that nickname suits you after all, Princess Commander."

I rolled my eyes and nudged his arm, "Cute." I chided, heading for the ship.

* * *

"Each group takes someone with a gun." Bellamy informed as everyone came through the ship grabbing weapons and breaking off into small groups. "They're for killing Grounders, not food. We don't have the ammo." he emphasized the ammunition shortage. "Use the spears for hunting. Get what you can and be back by nightfall. No one stays out after dark."

I filled my pack with arrows and a couple of empty plastic boxes, just in case I found anythig medically usefull on the hunting trip. Nate Miller walked up to me, large spear in hand, "Who're you going with Ray?" he asked.

I slung my pack across my chest, "Bellamy." I answered. "Wanna join us?"

Miller shrugged, "Sure, why not." he agreed.

I rolled my eyes and strapped my newly made knife holster on my thigh, slidng a blade made from the claws and bones of the panther Wells shot our second day here on Earth into the sheath. I checked to make sure my boots were laced up tight and grabbed my bow. "Let's go."

I ducked out of the drop ship with Miller right behind me and we waited for Bellamy by the gate. He joined us and we headed out into the wilderness.

* * *

"What were you talking to Raven about?" Miller asked as we walked. Him and Bellamy were side by side while I stayed close behind them.

"I told her to put her big brain to work to give us something to use once the Grounders finally make their move." he answered. "She's gonna be working on walkie-talkies while we're out hunting."

"If anyone can make those out of the scrap around camp, it's Raven." I chimed in, keeping pace with the two boys. "She's got one brilliant mind, I'll give her that."

As we came to a clearing nearby, Miller stopped and ducked behind a tree. "I think we just found tonight's dinner." he chuckled.

Bellamy and I stood behind him, peering around the tree. Looking through the scope of his rifle, Bellamy got a better look at our prey. "It's a deer." he whispered.

"Let me see." I took the gun from him and peered through the scope and sure enough, a male deer was grazing in the field. "Please don't have another head." I muttered, but as it turned, I saw a more distinct head growing from the side of it's neck, complete with antlers. "Damn." I cursed, handing Bellamy the rifle. "That's still freaky."

"It just means more for us." Miller interjected.

I rolled my eyes in his direction. "You do realize that the lingering radiation from the bombs soaked into the ground and water, causing the cells to mutate right?" I questioned.

"Food is food, alright." Miller pointed out. "How are we gonna go about killing it?"

"I'll shoot it from a different angle and once it's down, you can finish the job by spearing it in the heart." I voted, running to another tree, sliding behind it where the deer's backside was exposed in my line of sight.

I pulled an arrow from my pack and lined it in the bowstring, aiming for the deer's lower spine. If this hit worked, it would paralyze it so Miller could go in for the kill. I took a deep breath and exhaled, releasing the arrow. It struck the deer in the back, which caused it to fall to the ground. Miller ran up and finished the kill, the deer going limp on the ground.

I smiled triumphantly and leaned against the tree, sighing in relief that I actually pulled that off. I slid down to the ground and a bundle of indigo colored flowers caught my eyes. I pulled out the list of plants Monty wrote up for me and checked over a similar drawing. The plant in question could be useful; the petals secret a sap that could be used as antiseptic, while the stems could be used for a painkiller. The roots of the plant, however, were actually a type of poison.

I dug out the plastic box from my pack and whipped out my knife, cutting the flowers loose from the ground, roots and all. The box itself was nearly full when Miller and Bellamy joined me, the deer we killed wrapped in a portion of the parachute.

"What are those for?" Miller asked.

"Never hurts to stock up on medical herbs and plants." I answered, shutting the full box. "These little beauties are something special, the flowers and stems are medically useful. The roots however, are a type of poison."

"What would you do with the poison?" Bellamy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I pulled an arrow from my pack and twisted it in between my fingers. "Ground it into a paste and coat my arrows in it." I answered, standing up and facing him. "Give the Grounders a taste of their own medicine." I slipped the arrow and the box into my pack, heading back in the direction of camp.

* * *

We made it back to camp a little after sundown. Miller and Bellamy went one direction and I went into the drop ship, looking to organize the flowers I found into medical usage and my own personal poison.

I sat at my medical table and started cutting the roots from the flowers, wearing a pair of black leather gloves that I found at the bottom of the red medical duffle from the bunker. Monty walked up next to me, "Where'd you find those?" he asked.

"Growing by some trees near a clearing." I answered, setting the roots in a pile and placing the flowers in the box. "I figured if the Grounders are gonna use poison weapons, why not us too?" I glanced over at him. "Give them a taste of it."

"I'm so staying on your good side." Monty gulped.

I cracked a smirk in his direction. "Wise choice." I chuckled. "Are you helping Raven with the walkies?"

He nodded, "I'll get back to that." he walked over to his own station.

I couldn't help but laugh as I continued my new little project. Normally I wouldn't even think of using my knowledge of the human body to actually kill someone, but being faced with the possibility of going to war with the Grounders made me realize that holding on to the old me wasn't gonna cut it. I had to step up and do what was right for my people. Time to own up to the nickname they all call me.

* * *

Raven walked into the ship, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. Her shirt was loose and wrinkled, as was her jacket. She sat down by the radio and started working on whatever was in front of her. I continued to grind the roots into a paste and coat the arrowheads, turning them from ivory white to a light lilac. In order to speed up the drying a bit, I held each arrowhead over a flame for a few seconds, then set them off to the side to let the poison set in.

"You finished the walkies." Monty noted, as he joined us, standing in between my station and Raven's.

Raven sighed and stood up, "Hey I'm sorry about before. Really." she apologized. "And sorry about your family."

I glanced between the two, feeling a little left out of the loop. I tuned out the rest of that conversation, until I heard "They all left camp together." which Monty informed.

"All 3 of them are still out there?" Raven questioned.

I jumped out of my chair, "Clarke's not back yet?" I asked. Both nodded. "We have to go out there and find them." I grabbed my arrow pack and bow. "Grab some walkies, I'll get Bellamy." I ran out of the drop ship and towards Bellamy's tent.

* * *

"Bellamy." I panted, ducking into his tent. I then noticed that he was only partially dressed, his upper body totally bare. "Oh sorry, I should've-" I trailed off.

"It's okay, Rayleigh." he cut off, sliding on his shirt. "What's going on?"

"Clarke's hunting party isn't back yet." I answered. "I'm going out with Monty and Raven to go find them."

"Like hell." he rejected. "You know it's dangerous to go out after dark. "

"She's my sister Bellamy!" I reminded. "Clarke's all I've got left." moisture welled in my eyes. "First I loose my dad, and then my mom." I felt a couple tears fall down my cheeks. "I can't loose my sister too."

His expression softened and he pulled me to his chest, rubbing my back. "Hey, it's okay." he whispered. "I'll come with you."

I pulled away and looked up into his eyes. "Thank you." I leaned up and kissed him, cupping his face, our bodies pressed together. He hesitated a second before kissing back, pulling away first. I blinked in confusion and stepped back, "You okay?"

Bellamy nodded, shrugging on his guard jacket. "Yeah, C'mon let's go." he grabbed his rifle and slipped past me, holding the tent flap open.

We met Monty, Octavia, and Raven by the gate. "Here, we can use these to keep in contact." Raven said, handing a walkie to Bellamy and Monty. I noticed that Raven nor Bellamy looked each other in the eyes.

I shook it off. "Now let's go a find my sister." I voted, shrugging past them and heading back out into the forest. My pack full of non-poison arrows was slung across my chest, I held my bow tightly, still wearing the black leather gloves, and I was determined to kill anything the got in my way. Nothing was gonna stop me from finding my sister.

* * *

"I thought you said you were heading west." Monty questioned over the walkie. "Where are you?"

"Just keep the moon on your left, and you'll find us." Bellamy replied.

Those two had broken off not too far ahead, leaving us three girls in a group. "This morning, all I could think about was how much easier this would all be if Finn was just-" Raven sighed, shaking her head. "gone."

"You didn't wish this into being, Raven." Octavia reassured.

"Stop torturing yourself." I added, walking a few paces ahead. "Focus more on finding them. They're alive. They have to be."

As we continued walking a strange static-like signal came over the walkies. "Is anyone else hearing this signal?" Monty asked, his voice sounding panicked.

I took the walkie from Raven. "Just keep your eyes open for Clarke and the others." I told him, giving the walkie back to Raven.

"I think it's the same thing we heard in the black box." Monty informed.

"Damn it, Monty, pay attention." Bellamy snapped. "Do you see anything? Report."

I heard a rustling not too far ahead and held up my hand to halt Octavia and Raven. "There's someone in the bushes." I whispered. I took an arrow from my pack and lined it up in the bow, holding it low as I stalked to the bushes.

I held my bow up and ready to strike as I jumped through the bushes. I quickly lowered my weapon when I saw Myles laying on the ground, one arrow in his stomach and another in his shoulder. "Myles, what happened?" I asked. "Where are Clarke and Finn?"

Myles coughed, blood dripping from his lips. "Grounders took them." he rasped.

"Take it easy." Octavia soothed, kneeling next to him.

Bellamy joined us shortly, overlooking Myles. "We have to get him back to camp." he noted.

"Bell, what about Clarke and Finn?" Octavia asked.

Raven backed away, worry in her eyes. Bellamy looked in her direction. "Raven, I'm sorry." he apologized.

She looked up and met his eyes, sniffling. "We need to make a stretcher." she went to gather the materials we needed.

I turned my back on the rest of them, running my fingers through my hair. My eyes burned with tears threatening to spill over. I felt someone grip my shoulders, calling my name.

"Rayleigh, come on." the voice urged, sounding alot like Bellamy's. "Ray." I gasped and turned around, face to face with Bellamy. "Did you hear me?"

"What?" I questioned, panting.

"I said we're heading back to camp." Bellamy told me, gripping my upper arms. "Let's go."

"No." I shook my head. "Clarke and Finn are still out there somewhere. We have to find them."

"Rayleigh." Bellamy halted, his grip on my arm tightening. "If we don't get back soon, Myles will die." I glanced back over my shoulder, watching as Octavia and Raven lifted the makeshift stretcher which Myles was laying on. I looked back out at the dark forest ahead of me. I closed my eyes, knowing what decision the new me had to make. I turned back to Bellamy, "Then let's go. Those arrows are probably poisoned, we have to hurry."

I ran past him back towards camp, my heart constricting with every step. _"I promise Clarke, once I save Myles, I'll come back out and I won't stop until I find you."_


	13. We Are Grounders (Part 1)

**We Are Grounders (Part 1)**

* * *

As soon as we got back to camp, Octavia helped me get Myles into the drop ship. I immediately went to work pulling the arrows out of him and tending to his wounds.

"I got this O." I noted, starting a small fire, "Thanks for the help."

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, this is my area of expertise." I brushed my hair back. "Go see if Bellamy needs you for anything."

Octavia nodded, "Okay, see ya Ray." she patted my shoulder and left the ship, leaving me alone with a slowly dying kid.

Pushing everything else to the back of my mind for now, I went into full medical mode and tended to Myles as best I could, even though my body was telling me to slow down and rest.

* * *

I laid my head down to rest for a few minutes and I suddenly jolted up when I heard a gunshot. I ran my hands down the length of my hair, groaning, "What now?" and ducked out of the drop ship.

Octavia stood by the draw bridge, shaking her head. "What happened?" I asked her.

"Sterling fell asleep and accidentally fired his weapon." she answered. "Scared the hell out of all of us, and pissed off Bellamy."

I chuckled. "What doesn't piss him off?" I raised an eyebrow.

Octavia shrugged. "Good point."

"I've been on watch all day." Sterling defended.

"We've all been on watch all day!" Bellamy rebuked. "That bullet was one less dead Grounder."

I rubbed my temples. "Bell, you're scaring people." Octavia pointed out.

"They should be scared!" he noted, looking out at all of us. "The bomb on the bridge bought us some time to prepare, but that time is up! The Grounders are out there right now, waiting for us to leave and picking us off one by one when we do!" he added. "Clarke, Finn, and Monty are gone, probably dead," I folded my arms over my chest, still listening to his rant. "and if you want to be next, I can't stop you, but no guns are leaving this camp! This camp is the only thing keeping us alive! Get back to work!"

Everyone went back to doing whatever it is they were doing. Octavia shook her head, "He really can't be serious." she scoffed.

I sighed heavily. "That is what happens when you don't get enough sleep." I pointed out. "What good are all these preparations gonna do if we can barely keep our eyes open."

"Speak for yourself Ray." Octavia replied, looking over at me. "You look like you're about to crash."

"I was resting my eyes before that gun went off." I reminded. "Whatever, just tell your brother to dial it down a notch or two, Myles needs to rest." I turned to leave but stopped, "And ask Jasper if that thing I asked him to do for me is ready. If it is, tell him I need it, now." I ducked back into the ship and checked on my patient, and saw barely any change.

* * *

The only thing I could really do was try and ease his pain as best I could, which is why I was boiling a tea made from a root that was used for painkillers way back in the day. I set it off to the side to let it cool and changed Myles' bandages.

"How's he doin?" Bellamy asked, standing behind me.

"The arrows were poisoned." I informed, disposing of the old bandages and grabbing a couple of gauze pads. "It's slowly working through his system. He's feverish, complains of muscle aches." I sighed, leaning into the table, pursing my lips together. "The only thing I can really do is ease his pain, for now."

Bellamy rubbed my shoulders, "If anyone can save him, it's you." he whispered, kissing the back of my neck.

"He's dying Bellamy." I informed in a low voice. "Until Jasper get's me what I need, I can't do anything." I gripped the edges of the table, gritting my teeth.

"Come here." he turned me around and held me close to his chest, rubbing my back. "You can do this. Don't give up on us now, not when we need you the most." he held the back of my head, kissing my temple. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" I asked, laying the side of my face on his chest, wrapping my arms around his back and closing my eyes.

Bellamy shuddered, laying his cheek on top of my head. "I slept with Raven." he muttered against my hair.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "Excuse me?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"She came on to me." he defended. "I told her she wasn't thinking straight and that I was with someone else. She said you didn't care."

"Did you say who you were with?" I pressed.

"Didn't get the chance." he admitted.

I backed away and turned my back, biting my lip. "That explains the awkwardness between you two earlier." I muttered, shaking my head. "It probably wouldn't have mattered if she knew you were seeing me or not. After all, my sister slept with her boyfriend. Maybe she'd think it fits she sleeps with mine."

"Ray, I'm sorry." Bellamy apologized, wrapping his arms around my neck.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm not mad." I replied, leaning into the table. "I don't have the time or energy to be mad." I grabbed the two bandages and applied them to Myles' wounds. "I have a job to do." I slid past him and took the tea I made off of the fire, letting it cool.

I took it to Myles and lifted his head up, "Here, drink this." I told him, tipping the cup to his lips. "Drink it all." I waited till all the liquid was gone before setting the cup aside. I brushed Myles' hair to the side, taking a shuddering breath.

"Thanks Princess Commander." Myles rasped, looking up at me.

"I'm just doing my job." I replied. "Get some rest okay." I planted a light kiss on his forehead as his eyes closed.

I organized my medical station, cleaning off the instruments I used and moved my newly poison-coated arrows to my pack, clearing the space. "You should take your own advice." Bellamy whispered, his breath warm against my ear.

I turned my head slightly to look at him. "I'll rest when I know Myles is out of the woods." I replied. "Until Jasper gets here, that's not gonna happen."

"What did you ask him to do?" he asked.

I turned to face him, "The antidote Lincoln gave me, back when I was shot on the bridge, I saved some and asked Jasper to reverse engineer it for me." I answered. "Just to be safe. His a chemist, it was my best bet."

Bellamy rubbed my arms. "That was smart." he praised.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go see if he's finished." I went to leave, but Bellamy stood in my way.

"Ray, just stop." he said, before leaning down and capturing my lips, locking his arms around my waist. I ran my hands up his arms and gripped his shoulders, fisting the fabric of his guard jacket. As the kiss intensified, my back was pressed against the table's edge which made me press my body into Bellamy's. His hands glided down my legs as he picked me up, my legs instantly wrapping around his waist in response. He sat me down on the table, keeping our bodies pressed together. I ran my fingers through his hair, my hands trailing down his neck and shoulders before I looped them under his arms, opening my mouth wider as his tongue slid past mine. My heart raced as Bellamy trailed his hands up and down my back, and a small moan escaped my lips.

I pulled back, panting, my hands braced on Bellamy's shoulders. "Not here. Not now." I said, breathlessly. I met his eyes, running my hands through his dark hair. "Like you said, the Grounders are coming and we need to be prepared." I cupped his face. "What makes us any different than them? Other than the fact we stepped up to lead." I touched my forehead to his, kissing his lips softly.

"Ray." Bellamy whispered, cupping my face.

"Shh." I replied. "We have more important matters at hand right now." I reminded, meeting his eyes. "Let's save this for after we beat the Grounders."

He nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I'm gonna hold you to that." he kissed me, caressing my cheek. I tilted my face into his hand, kissing back, running my fingers through his hair.

* * *

I slid off the table and caught my breath, going back to organizing my medical supplies while Bellamy planned a strategy against the Grounder army we all know is coming. Jasper came into the drop ship, heading in my direction.

"Here Ray, I finished the antidote." he handed me the vial.

I took it from him. "Thanks Jasper, you're a lifesaver." I gave him a smile and poured a third of it into a small tin, mixing it with the leftover painkiller tea. "Myles thanks you too." I ran to the exam table and tapped Myles' shoulder, stirring him awake. "Hey Myles, I have exactly what you need right here." I helped him sit up, supporting his head. "This'll make you good as new."

He nodded and drank down the antidote, breathing heavily. "Thank you." I rasped.

I smiled and laid him back down. "That should kick the rest of the poison out of your system." I informed. "You'll be back to your old self soon."

Myles nodded, "I trust you, doc." he muttered, his eyes closing.

"No one dies on my watch." I stated, backing away from the exam table and standing between Bellamy and Jasper, and noting the looks the latter was giving the former.

"Don't you think I want to go after them, too?" Bellamy admitted, facing Jasper.

"If it was you out there, you think Monty, Clarke, or Finn would hide behind these walls?" Jasper asked, setting his rifle on my table, glancing at me.

Bellamy glanced over at me, his arms folded over his chest. "No." he answered. "They'd go after me, then they'd be dead, too." he added, looking from me to Jasper. "I am doing what I think is right for the group."

"It's funny, you didn't think that way when Octavia went missing." Jasper scoffed, heading for the ladder to the second level.

"Where are you going?" Bellamy barked.

"More gunpowder for your minefield." Jasper answered, weakly saluting. "Sir." he climbed up the ladder without another word.

I leaned into the table, my hair draped over my shoulder. "He's not wrong, you know." I pointed out, putting my supplies in the storage space Monty made up for me out of a piece of the drop ship wall. "And don't take the brush off to heart, we're all on edge because we haven't slept in hours."

"I know." he admitted, standing beside me.

"Also, my sister's not dead." I added, shoving my supplies in the cabinet and shutting the door. "Neither are Finn and Monty."

Bellamy grabbed my arm, making me face him. "Face facts, they've been gone for a day now." he noted. "I'm sorry Ray."

"No." I cut off. "Clarke's still out there, I know she is." I soaked a cloth in cold water, wringing it out. "I have to believe that." I draped the rag over Myles' forehead. His fever finally broke, which was a good sign.

"Water." Myles groaned, half-asleep. "Water, please."

I lowered my head and caressed his cheek, moving to leave the drop ship, but Bellamy halted me. "I'll get him some." he volunteered. "I'm sorry." he whispered, caressing my cheek.

"I know." I replied, gazing into his eyes.

Bellamy kissed my forehead before leaving the ship. I sighed heavily and walked back to the table, laying my elbows on the metal surface, my face in my hands. My shoulders heaved as a few tears fell down my cheeks, "I can't do this." I cried, my hands on either side of my nose. "Not alone." I sniffled, shuddering. "Dad. Mom. I wish you were both here. I need you, I can't do this."

"Poor Princess." someone scoffed behind me, and I knew who it was. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, then a similar feeling on my forehead followed by something wet and warm running down the side of my face. I hit the ground, everything swirling around me. I reached up and felt fresh blood from a small gash on my forehead. "I'd say it was nothing personal, but then I'd be lying." the voice echoed.

I rolled on my side and saw a fuzzy image of Murphy standing over me, rifle in hand. "This is for your stupid accusation that got me hanged." he held the rifle over my face. "I've been waiting to do this, you bitch." he slammed the butt of the rifle into the side of my face and everything went black.

* * *

As my senses slowly came back, I heard voices mixed with radio signals. "Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in control right now." that was Murphy speaking.

"Come on, Murphy. You don't want to hurt Jasper or Rayleigh." and that was Bellamy's voice, which sounded like it was coming from the radio speaker. "You want to hurt me. So what do you say? How about you trade them for me?"

I tried to sit up, and my head started throbbing. "Ow." I whimpered, reaching up to touch my head, and that's when I realized my hands were bound.

"Easy." Jasper whispered from beside me. I looked over and saw he was bound like me. "You okay."

"Nope." I answered. "Pretty sure I have a concussion." I winched as my vision cleared up. "What the hell happened? How'd that psycho get a gun?"

"I couldn't get to it in time." Jasper answered. "Murphy knocked you out. He killed Myles."

"What?" I looked over at the exam table, and Myles' body was covered with a sheet. "Damnit." I cursed, looking away.

"You open the door, I walk in, they walk out." I heard Bellamy say over the radio.

"A hostage trade?" I questioned, glancing at Jasper. He just shrugged.

Murphy opened the drop ship door. "Just you, Bellamy, unarmed." he called. "Ten seconds or I put one in Jasper's leg. Then, one in Princess for every second after."

He started counting down, the gun held point blank at Jasper and I as we stood a few steps behind the parachute. "I'm here." Bellamy called, entering the ship.

Murphy shoved Jasper out first, pressing the barrel of the rifle to my back. "You're next Princess." he motioned, pushing me forward.

I walked past Bellamy, my eyes pleading with him not to go through with this. He grabbed my arm, "It's okay." he assured, meeting my eyes.

"He'll kill you." I whispered.

Bellamy kissed my forehead, rubbing the back of my head, which was still throbbing. "Get everyone back to work." he told me, touching his forehead to mine. "The Grounders are still coming."

* * *

Before I could say or do anything else, Murphy hit me with the rifle, which sent rolling down the draw bridge and landing with a hard 'thud' on the dirt.

"Rayleigh." Octavia gasped, helping me to a sitting position.

"That bastard." I grunted, wincing. "I already had a concussion and that didn't help." Jasper untied my hands, him and Octavia helping me to my feet. "Please tell me there's a plan to get him out." I panted, glancing at Octavia, who nodded. The drop ship doors closed.

"Raven's working on one now." Octavia informed. "She's trying to sneak in from a loose panel around back."

"I'll go help her." Jasper voted, heading that way.

Octavia just stared at the drop ship, worry in her eyes. "Hey." I said, nudging her arm. "Bellamy's gonna be fine." I reassured.

"If Murphy hurts him, he's so dead." she growled.

I nodded in agreement. "I should've let Bellamy kill him." I admitted, placing my hands on my hips.

"Ray, there's no way you could've known this would happen." Octavia replied, rubbing my shoulder.

A gunshot sounded from inside the ship and everyone with guns readied their weapons. "Bellamy." I muttered.

Octavia held the radio, "Bellamy?" she questioned, gritting her teeth. No answer. "Bellamy! Are you ok?"

I took the radio from her, "Bellamy! Do you copy?" I half-yelled into the speaker.

"I'm fine. Just a misfire." he answered, making me and Octavia sigh in relief. "Now stop worrying about me and get back to work, all of you." he ordered. "Tell Raven to hurry her ass up."

I cracked a smile and handed the radio back to Octavia. It was agravating having to wait, but I knew that Raven would pull through. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, and when another gunshot went off, I was ready to charge in there and give Murphy a beating.

More gunshots went off inside the ship, putting every gunner on the offensive. I clenched my hands into fists so tightly I thought my hands were gonna bleed. "I swear if Bellamy dies, Murphy's gonna wish he never came back." I growled.

Jasper joined us, rifle ready to fire. The drop ship door opened and as soon as the bridge hit the ground, Jasper and I were the first two on it. "Once you see Murphy, shoot him." I told him.

"Copy that Princess Commander." Jasper confirmed, stepping inside.

* * *

When I followed, my heart sank. "Bellamy!" I screamed, running to him. Murphy's revenge was irony, hanging Bellamy like the camp hung him.

I found the stool and kicked it upright, standing on it. "Help me get him down." I told Jasper.

Octavia was the next one in and ran to unlatch the seat belts that were holding the rope upright. Bellamy's body came loose and I held it as I knelt on the ground, slipping the noose from his neck.

"Is he breathing?" Jasper asked.

I put my ear to his mouth and shook my head. "Octavia, tilt his head up and open his mouth." I ordered, clasping my hands over eachother. Using the heels of my palms, I performed compressions on his chest. "C'mon Bell, breathe!" I grunted. After twenty compressions, I placed my mouth over his, breathing twice. When that didn't work, I repeated the process. "Come on Bellamy, come back to us." I begged, pounding his chest. "I can't loose you too." I breathed into him again.

On the second breath he gasped, his back arching off the ground. "Thank God." Jasper and a few other gunners sighed.

"You're ok." Octavia assured, rubbing his back. "You're ok, big brother."

"Raven, he's fine!" Jasper called down through the floor.

Once Bellamy's breathing regulated, he went right for the ladder, pure rage in his eyes. "Murphy!" he yelled. trying to get the latch open. "It's over Murphy!"

I grabbed my pack of arrows and slung it over my shoulder, taking my bow and climbing up the ladder, standing directly beneath Bellamy. "Give up Murphy!" I called. "There's only one way out of this for you now!"

Bellamy continued to push on the latch, trying to get it open. An explosion sounded, making me grip the ladder rightly. But it didn't stop Bellamy, who managed to shove the latch open.

* * *

When I followed him to the second level, I immediately started coughing. "Damn." I muttered, shielding my nose and mouth with my sleeve. There was a giant hole in the drop ship wall. "Double damn." I ran up to it and stood next to Bellamy.

"The guy knows how to make an exit." Jasper noted, joining us. "Should we go after him?"

"I vote we shoot him right now." I suggested, grabbing an arrow from my pack and lining it with my bowstring.

"No." Bellamy rebuked, placing his hand on my wrist and lowering it. "The Grounders will take care of Murphy."

I met his eyes, "Doesn't mean we can't help them out." I replied, taking aim. "Hey Murphy!" I called, making the little weasel stop and glance back. I fired my lavender tipped arrow and struck Murphy right in the thigh as he turned to run.

"Bitch!" he yelled as he limped away.

"Remind me never to piss you off." Jasper muttered, looking at me.

I cracked a smirk, turning to Bellamy. "Take note; if the Grounders don't kill Murphy first, that arrow will." I quirked a brow. "That psycho little bastard deserved a poison arrow."

"Now what?" Jasper asked.

"Now," Bellamy replied, looking at both Jasper and I. "we're going after Clarke, Finn, and Monty." he answered. "You and Raven were right. We don't abandon our own." he walked back towards the latch. "Two guns you and me, Jasper. That's it."

"Like hell." I cut in, grabbing his arm. "My sister's out there, I'm going."

"No, you and Raven stay here and build up defenses." he rebuked. "We lost a day because of this, and our gunpowder. Raven!"

"Bellamy, wait." Jasper halted, making both of us look at him. "Look, I just-" he hugged Bellamy, which caught him off guard. "Thank you." Jasper chuckled, pulling away. "Long way from 'whatever the hell you want'."

"I second that." I agreed, throwing my arms around his neck. I caressed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding my bow and smiled. "Don't ever do anything that stupidly heroic again." I whispered.

He wrapped his arms around my back, one hand holding the back of my head. "You saved my life Rayleigh." he sighed.

I pulled away and looked at him. "You saved my life once." I reminded. "I owed you."

I leaned up and kissed him, tightening my arms around his neck. In response, his arms tightened around my back as he returned the kiss. I slipped my tongue past his teeth, smiling against his lips. He pulled away and touched his forehead to mine, I opened my eyes and met his gaze, still smiling.

Jasper cleared his throat. "That's something I didn't think I'd see." he gaped. "How long has that been going on between the two of you?"

"Well see-" I started to explain, but was interrupted when Miller's voice came over the radio.

"All gunners! We got movement outside the south wall!" he announced.

* * *

I climbed down the ladder with Bellamy and Jasper close behind. I ran out of the ship, my weapon ready. "Wait! Hold your fire!" Miller halted. "It's Clarke and Finn! Open the gate!"

"Clarke." I repeated, running through the crowd.

As soon as the gate swung open, Clarke and Finn ran into camp. "Clarke!" I called, running towards her. I threw my arms around her, holding the back of her head. "Thank God you're okay." I sighed.

Clarke returned the embrace, her head resting on my shoulder. "I've missed you too sis." she gasped, hugging me tighter. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." I soothed, pulling back to look at her. "I'm just relieved you're alive." I kissed her forehead.

"We heard an explosion." she informed, studying my face. She touched the cut on my forehead, making me wince. "What happened?"

"Murphy happened." Bellamy answered, him and Jasper joining us.

"Where have you been?" Jasper asked them. "Where's Monty?"

"Monty's gone?" Clarke questioned. I nodded.

"Clarke, we need to leave, now." Finn interjected. "All of us do. There's an army of Grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now." he informed. "We need to pack what we can and run."

"Like hell we do." Bellamy rejected. "We knew this was coming."

"Bell, we're not prepared." Octavia reminded.

"And they're not here yet. We still have time to get ready." Bellamy argued. "Besides, where would we go?" he asked, directing the question towards Finn. "Where would we be safer than behind these walls?"

"There's an ocean to the east." Finn answered. "People there will help us."

"You saw Lincoln." Octavia stated.

"You expect us to trust a Grounder?" Bellamy questioned. "This is our home now. We built this from nothing with our bare hands!" he looked out to everyone, and everyone had their eyes on Bellamy. "Our dead are buried behind that wall in this ground! Our ground! The Grounders think they can take that away." he caught his breath. "They think that because we came from the sky, we don't belong here. But they've yet to realize one very important fact: We are on the ground now, and that means we are Grounders!"

"Yeah!" everyone cheered. Someone else from the crowd added, "Grounders with guns."

"Damn right!" Bellamy agreed. "I say let 'em come!"

Clarke and I exchanged a glance, before she stepped forward. "Bellamy's right. If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this." she added. "And God knows, in this world, we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact that if we stay here, we will die tonight." she looked over her shoulder at me.

I walked up and stood beside her, everyone's eyes now on me. "Pack your things. Just take what you can carry." I ordered. "Now!"

"Help!" Raven called, slowly walking into camp, her hand pressed to the right side of her stomach.

"Oh my God, Raven!" I gasped, running to help her.

"What happened?" Clarke asked.

"One of Murphy's bullets must've hit her." I replied. "Get her onto the drop ship." I told Finn, who scooped Raven up in his arms.

As I went to follow, Bellamy grabbed my arm. "Rayleigh, leaving here is a mistake." he told me, his eyes boring into mine.

"The decision's been made, Bellamy." I reminded.

"Crowds make bad decisions. Just ask Murphy." he argued. "Leaders do what they think is right."

I pulled my arm free, "I am." I informed. He looked away, but I cupped the side of his face, turning it to meet mine. "I trust my sister Bellamy, she would never tell us something like that if it wasn't true." I caressed the side of his face. "Do you trust me?"

 **To Be Continued...**


	14. We Are Grounders (Part 2)

**We Are Grounders (Part 2)**

* * *

 **The story so far...** I, Rayleigh Griffin, daughter of Jake and Abigail Griffin and older twin sister of Clarke, was born in space. I've never felt the sun on my face, breathed real air, or floated in the water. None of us have. For three generations, the Ark has kept what's left of the human race alive. Only now our home is dying, and we that remain are the last hope of mankind.

A hundred prisoners, me and my sister included, were sent on a desperate mission to the ground. Each of us was sent here because we broke the law. However, on the ground, there is no law. All we had to do was survive. We were tested by the Earth, by the secrets she hid, but most of all by each other.

We've survived suprise attacks, acid fog, killer viruses, and a near mutiny. All those incidents have made us stronger. All those incidents made me stronger, and a completly different person. Back on the Ark, I was just a nice girl who worked in Medical alongside her mother, devoting her life to saving people. Never would I have stood by and watched a man be tortured, nor would I fathom that the lives of 101 people would rest in my hands. Also, I would never, ever have expected to step up in a leadership role, alongside a man I walked away from when I was sixteen years old. On top of that, I didn't know I would fall in love down here on Earth either.

Now, all that we've faced pales in comparison to what's coming. The war with the Grounders has finally reached it's climax and we have two choices; make our way to the sea in hopes we all survive, or stand our ground and fight for what we've acomplished, and pray we're not all massacered. Being a group of delinquents, you'd think we'd choose the latter, but knowing how outmatched we are, we're taking the hike to the sea option, in hopes to survive another day.

However, fate had other plans for us...

* * *

I held a heated blade to Raven's bullet wound, cauterizing it. She screamed in agony as I did so, squeezing Finn's hand. "That should stop the external bleeding." I stated, setting the knife aside, cleaning the blood off around the wound.

"I don't understand." Finn cut in. "How did Murphy get a gun?"

"Long story." Bellamy and I answered, as I bandaged Raven's wound.

"We got lucky." Raven panted. "If Murphy hit the fuel tank instead of me, we'd all be dead."

"Wait, there's rocket fuel down there?" Clarke questioned. "Enough to build a bomb?"

"Enough to build 100 bombs." Raven clarified. "If we had any gunpowder left."

Bellamy sighed, flipping through the brown leather book Clarke and Finn got from Lincoln. "Let's get back to the Reapers. Maybe they'll help us." he threw out. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?

"Not this enemy." Finn corrected. "We saw them, trust me, it's not an option." he looked directly at me. "Can she walk or not?"

I shook my head. "No, we have to carry her." I answered.

"The hell you will." Raven rebuked, moving to sit up. "I'm good to go."

I laid my hands on her shoulders, pushing her back down. "Listen Raven, that bullet is still inside you." I told her. "If by some miracle and there's no internal bleeding, it might hold until we get somewhere safe. But you are not walking there, is that clear?" I kept my eyes locked with hers and she nodded.

"I'll get the stretcher." Finn volunteered, turning to leave.

"Can't run away fast enough, huh?" Bellamy questioned. "Real brave."

"Dying in a fight you can't win isn't brave, Bellamy." Finn pointed out. "It's stupid."

"Spoken like every coward who's ever run from a fight." Bellamy scoffed, standing right in front of Finn.

"All right, that's enough!" I interjected, standing in between the two. "It's time to go."

"If they follow?" Bellamy questioned, looking at me. "It's a 120-mile walk to the ocean."

"Look, we're wasting time." Finn cut off. "If he wants to stay, he can stay."

"No, he can't." Clarke called after him, but he was already out of the drop ship. "Finn!"

I turned to Bellamy, looking up into his eyes. "We can't do this without you, Bellamy." I pleaded.

"What do you want me to say, Rayleigh?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"I want you to say that you're with us." I admitted, sighing. "Those kids out there," I pointed to the drop ship door. "they listen to you."

"They're lining up to go." he reminded. "Looks like they listen to you more."

This time I'm the one who rolled my eyes. "Clarke gave them an easy choice." I stated. "But five minutes ago, they were willing to fight and die for you. You inspire them. I'm afraid we're gonna need that again before this day is through." I reached up and cupped the side of his face. "So, what do you say?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you with me?"

Bellamy turned his face into my hand, kissing the heel of my palm before taking it and interlocking our fingers. "Yeah." he muttered. "I'm with you."

A smile crossed my lips and I squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

* * *

Once everyone was ready, the gates opened and we left the camp, all the gunners held their weapons ready to fire. Clarke and I stood back, making sure everyone got out. I glanced back and saw Bellamy by the fire pit, and walked up to him.

"You did good here, Bellamy." I praised, my eyes meeting his.

"Eighteen dead." he noted, looking out towards the graveyard. His shoulders sank.

"Eighty-two alive." I added, turning his face to meet mine. "You did good." I caressed his cheek. "You should be proud. I know I am." I leaned up and kissed him, moving my hand from his cheek to his shoulder.

I pulled away and took a step back, watching as he poured the water container over the fire, dousing it. I had the red medical duffle slung over my chest, and my pack carrying my bow and arrows was slung across it, forming an 'X' over my chest.

Clarke, Bellamy, and I walked in the middle of the group. My sister and I had our arms looped around eachother's, standing strong together. On the other side of me, Bellamy held his rifle ready. We shared a glance, both hoping this was the right call. I reached out and ran my hand down his arm, nodding slightly.

When the group suddenly stopped, I tenses up. Then, up ahead Drew went down when some kind of bladed weapon struck him in the face. "Grounders!" Jasper yelled, and everyone kicked it into high gear, retreating back to camp.

* * *

It was pure chaos retreating back, everyone clamoring to get inside camp. As Octavia and a few of the guys went to shut the gate, I climbed up next to Bellamy, who was all to ready to shoot anything that came our way.

"Where are they?" he asked, looking around. "Why aren't they attacking?"

I gasped. "Because we're doing exactly what they wanted us to do." I answered, mentally kicking myself.

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy questioned, looking over at me.

I turned around, meeting my sister's eyes. "Lincoln said the scouts would be the first to arrive, right?" I asked her. Clarke nodded.

"If it's just scouts, we can fight our way out." Octavia threw out. "That's what Lincoln would do."

"We're done doing what that Grounder would do." Bellamy rejected, jumping down and standing by his sister. "We tried it and now Drew is dead. You want to be next?"

"That Grounder saved our lives." Finn pointed out. He looked up at me. "I agree with Octavia. For all we know, there's one scout out there."

"One scout with insanely good aim." Jasper cut in.

"Ray, we can still do this." Octavia sighed, looking up at me.

I looked out at the camp and saw everyone's eyes on me. "Looking to you, Princess Commander." Bellamy said. "What's it gonna be?" he asked. "Run and get picked off out in the open, or stand and fight back?"

I turned my back on the camp, staring out into the woods. I ran my hands over my hair, taking a deep breath and exhaling. My mother's words echoed in my mind, _"Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father"_. I took the ring and clutched it tightly.

I spun on my heels and jumped down, landing next to my sister. "Lincoln said 'scouts' right?" I asked. "As in more than one?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he said 'get home before the scouts arrive'." she answered.

"With what happened earlier, they're already here." I noted, turning to face Bellamy. "Looks like you've got your fight after all."

He nodded. "Ok, then." he cleared his throat and faced the camp. "This is what we've been preparing for; kill them before they kill us. Gunners, to your posts!" he ordered, and everyone started scrambling to get to where they needed to be. "Use the tunnels to get in and out. From now on, the gate stays closed."

"So, how the hell do we do this?" Clarke asked, meeting my eyes.

* * *

Clarke, Raven, Finn, Bellamy, and I stood around a table with a small model of our entire camp, discussing a battle strategy. "We've got 25 rifles with 20 rounds each, give or take. Roughly 500 rounds of ammo." Bellamy informed. "While you two were gone," he glanced to Clarke and Finn. "we made some improvements. Thanks to Raven, the gully's mined."

"Partially mined." Raven corrected. "Thanks to Murphy."

"Still, it's the main route in. If the Grounders use it, we'll know." Bellamy continued. "She also built grenades." he motioned to the small box, at the end of the table.

"It's not many." Clarke nodded.

"Again, thank you, Murphy." Raven shook her head.

"We'll make them count." Bellamy promised. "If the Grounders make it through the front gate, guns and grenades should force them back."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "And then?" Clarke prided.

"Then we close the door and pray." Raven sighed.

"And pray what?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow. "That the ship keeps them out? Because it won't."

"Then let's not let them get through the gate." Bellamy stated. "All foxholes, listen up." he spoke into the walkie, "Keep your eyes and ears open. Inflict casualties, as many as possible. You can hold them off long enough to make them turn back. That's the plan."

"That's always your plan." Finn shook his head. "Just like the bomb at the bridge."

"Damn right." Bellamy nodded. "You got a better idea?"

My eyes focused on the drop ship model. I leaned into the table, biting my lip. "It can't be that simple." I mumbled, shaking my head. I gathered all my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail, rubbing my forehead with the heels of my palms.

"Rayleigh, what's going on in that head of yours?" Clarke asked.

I glanced over at Raven. "You said there's fuel in those rockets, right? Enough to build 100 bombs?" I questioned.

"I also said we've got no gunpowder left." Raven added.

I shook my head, my ponytail draping over my shoulder. "I don't want to build a bomb." I cracked a smile. "I want to blast off."

Raven nodded in understanding. "Draw them in close and fire the rockets. A ring of fire."

"Barbecued Grounders." Bellamy added, glancing in my direction. "I like it."

"Will it work?" Finn asked, looking at Raven.

"The wiring's a mess down there, but yeah." Raven answered, her eyes meeting mine. "You give me enough time, I'll cook them real good."

I nodded. "Okay; Clarke and Finn you go down there and follow Raven's instructions. She's gonna stay up here where I can keep an eye on her." they nodded and left the drop ship.

"I'll be out there with everyone else, buying you guys enough time." Bellamy added, moving to leave the ship.

"Bell, wait!" I called, grabbing his arm before he could leave. I stood directly in front of him, our eyes locked. The next second, my lips were over his and his hands rested on my waist. I pulled away, gazing into his eyes. "Be careful out there." I begged, cupping his face in my hands. "If anything happens, and you get hurt, you get your ass in this ship, got it?"

Bellamy leaned down and captured my lips, pulling my body close to his where there was no space between us. His arms locked around me, one hand on my lower back, the other on the back of my head. My arms laced around his neck and my feet were just barely touching the ground. He pulled away, our foreheads touching. "Yeah." he whispered.

I opened my eyes, finding his boring into mine. "I can't loose you Bellamy." I muttered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

He pulled me into an embrace, hugging me tightly. "You won't. You'll never loose me." he whispered in my ear. Bellamy pulled back, his arms around me, keeping me pressed against him. "We have another reason to live besides our younger sisters." he reminded.

"We have eachother." I finished, feeling my eyes well with moisture.

I kissed him once more, and this time he held me to where my feet were lifted off the ground. I kept one arm wrapped around his neck to support myself, while I used my free hand to grip his hair, sliding my tongue past his. Bellamy lowered me to the floor, our lips still connected in a kiss that was making my heart beat a million miles an hour. I caught my breath as he pulled away, before meeting those gorgeous brown eyes of his.

"Bellamy." I muttered, caressing the back of his neck.

"Everything's gonna be okay." he assured, touching his forehead to mine. With one last kiss to my temple, he ducked out of the drop ship.

"I was expecting the L-word to be said by at least one of you." Raven said, working to pry some panels from the floor.

I sighed, refocusing to the task at hand. I walked over to her, "Let's wait for the declarations of love, after we survive the night." I replied, helping her pry the panels loose.

Raven looked over at me, "Listen, Ray, there's something I-" she started.

I shook my head, "Bellamy already told me." I cut her off. "About you two." I shrugged it off. "Forget about it, we have more important things to do."

Raven nodded.

* * *

While Clarke and Finn were down near the rockets, Raven was working on a wire and I was moving the tables and stuff to the farthest corners of the ship to make room for everyone to fit once everything was in place.

"Raven, we can't find the ignition system." Clarke called.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Raven staring at her legs. I ran over and knelt down beside her. "Raven, what's wrong?" I asked, rubbing her shoulder.

When her eyes met mine, I saw a slight glimmer of fear in them. "I can't feel my legs." she answered.

I nodded, licking my lips. "Clarke, get up here a sec." I called down to her. "I need your help."

"Coming." she replied, climbing through the hole in the floor.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked, following Clarke.

"I need to check Raven's back." I informed. "I need you to help her lean forward."

Clarke nodded and gently took Raven's shoulders, leaning her forward so I could examine her back. I lifted her shirt and bit my bottom lip, taking in the large purple mass on her side. "That bad, huh?" Raven questioned, her breathing ragged and shallow.

My shoulders sank as I helped her back to a sitting position, "Raven, the bullet's in your spine." I informed, meeting her eyes. "You're bleeding internally."

Raven took another ragged breath, "We better do this fast then." she voted, looking to Finn and Clarke. "Get back down there."

"What if we can slow the bleeding?" Finn asked, looking at me. "Would that help?"

I nodded. "Of course it would help." I answered. "Can you tell me how to do that?"

"That stuff the Grounders had. Coagulant." Finn answered. "You said that Lincoln had some, too." he glanced to Clarke. "I'm betting that there's more of it in his cave. If I can get there-"

"Wait a second." Raven cut him off. "No way."

"I can make it." Finn assured.

Raven turned to me, "C'mon guys, tell him he's being an idiot." her eyes were pleading. She looked directly at Finn. "I'm not gonna let you die to save me."

"Fine." Finn sighed. "If you won't let me save you, how about we save everybody else?" he posed. "You're the only one who can fire those rockets. If you die, we all die." he glanced at each one of us. "I'll be right back."

He got up to leave, and Clarke followed him. "Finn, wait." she halted, grabbing his arm.

I placed my hand on Raven's shoulder, "Hey, listen to me Raven." I said, getting her to look at me. "I promise, as soon as this is over, I'll get that bullet out of you."

"Can you really do that?" she asked.

I nodded. "I brought Jasper and Finn back from the brink of death, right?" I reminded, cracking a small smile. "I can get that bullet out." I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm not gonna let you die."

Raven wrapped her arm around my shoulders, giving me a one-armed hug. "Now I feel really bad about sleeping with your man." she muttered into my shoulder.

I chuckled and pulled away, meeting her eyes. "I suppose I can't blame you." I replied. "I even thought he was cute, and I was with someone else when I met him." Raven and I shared a laugh. I brushed some loose hair from my face. "Until I can get that bullet out, I'll try to ease your pain as best I can."

"How?" she asked.

"That black bag my mom sent down with you, it had stuff from Medical in it, including a couple vials of morphine." I answered.

Raven nodded. "Thanks Ray." her lips curled into a smile.

"What are friends for?" I returned the smile and dug out the black bag from my pack, pulling out a morphine vial, a needle and a syringe.

* * *

As I injected the drug into Raven's back, my head snapped up when I heard what sounded ominously like drums.

"What the hell is that?" Raven asked.

"War-drums." I answered. I set the syringe aside and grabbed my bow and arrows, ducking out of the drop ship.

I ran down the drawbridge and spotted Bellamy, not far ahead. I ran to him, grabbing his arm.

"Rayleigh, get back in the drop ship, now." he ordered, his entire body tensing up.

"It's starting, isn't it?" I asked, my eyes darting up to his.

"Yes." Bellamy answered, his eyes meeting mine. "We'll hold them off as long as we can, you just focus on getting those rockets ready to fire."

I gripped his arm tighter, making him turn his entire body to face me. "Please be careful." I told him, capturing his lips with my own, my hand moving up his arm to his collarbone. I pulled away and cupped the left side of his face. "I can't loose you too."

Bellamy cupped the left side of my face, his thumb wiping away a stray tear. "You won't loose me." he promised. "I told you that I'd never leave you." the rest of his fingers caressed the backside of my ear and a part of my neck. He leaned down and kissed the center of my forehead. "I need you to live. Get back in the drop ship."

I met his eyes and nodded, running my fingers through his hair. "Don't die on me Bellamy Blake." I said.

"Wouldn't dream of it." he replied, pecking my lips before brushing his nose against mine. "My Princess." Bellamy took off towards the woods and I watched as he disappeared into the night.

* * *

I turned around and ran into the drop ship, and saw Raven slumped against the table she was using to sit upright. "Raven!" I gasped, collapsing on my knees next to her. I shook her shoulder, "Raven, wake up." I told her.

Her eyes fluttered open, before drifting close again. I lightly tapped the side of her face, "I know you're tired but you have to fight it." I stated. "Raven."

She woke up, "Yeah?" she asked, groggily.

"Thought I lost ya for a minute." I sighed in relief.

"Hey, I found it." Clarke's voice came from underneath the ship. "Orange wire."

"About time!" Raven chuckled, seemingly back to her old self. "Now follow that wire to the override panel."

"It's fried." Clarke informed. "Totally useless."

I sighed, "Tell me this isn't as bad as I think." I muttered, looking at her.

"You know how to splice a wire?" Raven asked, her voice loud enough so Clarke could hear too.

I shook my head in response. Clarke answered with a dissatisfying "No."

"Then it's worse." Raven told me.

Voices came over the walkie we had with us. "They're everywhere! We need backup!" a loud explosion sounded a second later. "Raven, our mines actually worked!" that was Jasper's excited tone.

"Jasper can splice." Raven noted.

I grabbed the walkie, "Jasper, we need you in the drop ship right now." I hailed.

"Negative." Bellamy rejected. "We can't give up the west woods."

"The west woods are mined, Bellamy." I reminded. "The Grounders just figured that out. Jasper, get your ass in here now."

Since all walkies were on the same frequency, we heard every conversation going on throughout the camps defenses, including Jasper's next warning. "All gunners, listen up. The Grounders are not attacking. They're making us waste bullets. Don't shoot when they're running laterally."

"Jasper's right." Bellamy agreed, from wherever he was. "Don't fire until you're sure it's attack. Repeat, do not fire until you are sure."

"West foxhole pulling back." Jasper announced. "Hang tight Princess Commander, I'm on my way."

I rolled my eyes and cracked a smile. A couple minutes later, Jasper poked his head up from the hole in the floor, "Just letting you know I made it."

"Get to work." I told him. "Splice the orange wire."

Jasper saluted. "Yes ma'am." he smiled and ducked back under the drop ship.

* * *

As the minutes dragged on, I could see Raven's condition deteriorating. The only thing I could think of to keep her awake was to keep asking her how exactly this was going to work.

"Hey, Raven, tell us again how this is gonna work." I asked, dabbing the sweat from her forehead.

Raven sighed. "I've already told you five times." she groaned. "Current flows to the electromagnet. That opens the poppet valve. Rockets fire." her eyes drifted shut and her body slumped to the side.

"Raven." I muttered. Her body collapsed into mine. "Raven!" I held her upright, but she wasn't responding to me. "Clarke, get up here now." I yelled. "Raven, you can't give up."

Clarke climbed up and helped me support Raven. Jasper poked his head out from the floor. "Is she-"

I shook my head. "Not yet." I answered. "But soon."

"They've broken through!" a panicked voice came over the walkie. "There's hundreds of them! They're heading for the gate! Game over, man!"

Clarke stepped out of the drop ship, and I knew what I had to do. I shrugged off my jacket and laid it on Raven's back, making her lean against it. Now I was in a black shirt with my shoulders and upper arms exposed. I tightened my ponytail and sheathed two knifes into the holsters on my thighs, and latched Bellamy's ax to the waistband of my cargo pants.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked.

"It's time the Princess Commander joins the fight." I answered, slinging my pack/quiver over my chest. "Finish it Jasper. Signal me when you're done." I grabbed the walkie. "I'm sending the injured in."

I pushed through the parachute curtain and heard the Grounders as they charged our camp. "There are too many!" Miller called from his post at the gate "Everybody to drop ship now!"

"No!" Clarke rebuked. "We need more time."

"Gunners, stay at your posts." I ordered. "Any injured get inside now!"

An explosion sounded overhead, making us all look up. Something was hurtling through the atmosphere. "Ray, could that really be..." Clarke trailed off, her eyes wide.

I nodded. "Yes little sister." I confirmed, my lips curling into a smile. "That's the Ark."

Something sounded from just beyond the gate, some sort of weird call. Whatever it was, it made my blood run cold. "What the hell is that?" I asked.

"Reapers." Clarke answered.

I gulped. "You still haven't exactly told me what they are." I reminded, glancing at her.

She looked at me, "They're cannibals, Rayleigh." she informed. "They eat their victims while they're still alive. It's awful."

"Wonderful." I yelped.

There was a rustling from one of the foxholes leading into camp, and Finn ran out. Clarke gasped and ran to him, jumping into his arms. They talked as they joined me, making me catch the end of their conversation.

"I just bought us some time." Finn informed. He looked at me. "How's Raven?"

"She's not good." I answered as we made our way inside the ship. "And the rockets aren't ready yet. Jasper's working on them now."

"Jasper?" Finn repeated. "What's plan B?"

I sighed. "Jasper was plan B." I answered, ducking into the drop ship with the two behind me.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Fox asked as I knelt next to Raven.

"She's gonna be just fine." I answered, injecting the coagulant next to Raven's gunshot wound.

"Rayleigh." Miller panted, entering the ship, his hand pressed to a wound in his shoulder. "They're taking down the gate."

"Good." Jasper chuckled, sticking his head out from the floor. "Because I did it I think."

"I'm closing that door." Miller stated.

"Wait!" I halted, jumping to my feet. "We've still got people out there." I ran past everyone, "Bellamy's not back yet." I took a deep breath and exhaled, marching out of the drop ship, just as a large, black, two-headed horse busted down the gate.

"Use the grenades!" someone yelled, launching a grenade at the attacking Grounders.

"All right everyone, Jasper did it!" I announced. "Get inside now!" I took the knives from the holsters and threw them at a couple of Grounders, striking one in the stomach, the other in the shoulder.

"Ray get down!" Clarke called, pushing me down just as a sword struck the side of the drop ship.

"Clarke, get inside." I ordered.

"No." she rebuked. "We're sisters. I'm not leaving you."

Finn skidded down next to us, his eyes focused on the foxhole he just came through. "There he is!"

I followed his line of sight and was relieved to see Bellamy. Although given the state of things, I knew this was cutting it close. "Bellamy, run!" I yelled.

As he ran towards me, a Grounder came up behind him and knocked him to the ground. He then started beating relentlessly on Bellamy, and my heart was literally breaking as I watched. "He's killing him." I whimpered.

Finn took a gun from one of the kids getting to the ship and went to save Bellamy. I looked out at the war going on and knew I had to get in a few shots before the rockets fired. I fired one arrow at a Grounder approaching the one Finn and Bellamy were taking on.

My body acted on it's own as I jumped on a log then jumped up to a small pile of sandbags, firing arrows off in all directions, striking Grounders with every hit. "Clarke get in the drop ship!" I yelled, glancing down at her. "I'm right behind you."

Reluctantly, she ran and jumped through the parachute, as I continued firing off arrows. My heart hammered in my ears as my blood pumped, adrenaline coursed throughout my body, igniting every nerve.

"Rayleigh, watch out!" I heard Bellamy warn.

A second later something struck me in the shoulder and I fell off the sandbag pile, landing on my back. I screamed as the wind was knocked out of me, rolling on my side. I coughed and blood filled my mouth. Despite the burning pain in my chest and shoulder, I stood tall and fired an arrow. It struck a Grounder in the throat and his body crumpled to the ground.

"Rayleigh, get inside now!" Miller called, firing his weapon, covering my back.

My eyes locked with Bellamy's, and he nodded. I focused on his lips, him telling me he needed me to live. I shook my head and he protested. I mouthed _'I need you'_. His eyes reflected pain, mirroring my own. He jerked his head slightly and then I was lifted from the ground by Miller.

"You can't save everyone." he said in my ear. "We need you Princess Commander."

I knew he was right but I was still looking at Bellamy as Finn helped him to his feet. Our eyes locked from across the battlefield, his lips moving, mouthing the words everyone on the Ark knew all to well. I closed my eyes and heard his voice speak them. "May we meet again."

"May we meet again." I repeated, opening my eyes and catching his gaze once more. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Not knowing what my future held, I spoke four words, hoping he caught them. "Bellamy, I love you."

I turned and jumped onto the drawbridge, firing arrows off at the closets Grounders. The apparent leader stalked towards me, his dark eyes set in a glare. I pulled an arrow catching the lilac tone by the fire's glow and lined it up, taking aim. Just as I released the arrow, something small and pointed struck me in the sternum. I hit the metal at the same time the Grounder I shot in the heart hit the ground. Miller yanked me to my feet and half carried me into the ship.

* * *

I leaned against the lever, gripping it with my right fist. I glanced down my body and took notice of the knife in my left shoulder, and the small dagger in my sternum. I willed my left arm, which was slowly going numb, to move and pulled the dagger out, covering the wound with my arm.

"Now Jasper." I ordered, gripping the lever.

I felt a hand over mine and saw Clarke standing at my left, her right hand over mine. "Together."

I nodded, and together we pulled the lever up, closing the doors to our last line of defense. I panted and slid down the wall, gripping the hilt of the knife still in my shoulder.

"Ray." Clarke whimpered, kneeling next to me.

"This is nothing." I chuckled, yanking the knife free. "Just a flesh wound."

"Cut the bullshit." Clarke scoffed. "Let me take care of you for a change."

I smiled at her. "You're alive, that's all I care about." Clarke returned the smile and lightly tapped her forehead to mine.

Our moment was quickly ruined when Anya rolled down the drawbridge, glaring at all of us. With Clarke's help, I got up off the wall and met Anya's hostile glare with a glare of my own. "Anya, you can't win here." I informed. I whipped my head in Jasper's direction, "Now!"

But when he flipped the switch, nothing happened. Anya took that as an opening and went to attack me, but Miller knocked her over the head with his rifle. Soon, everyone started kicking her. "She deserves to die." Miller hissed, brandishing a knife.

"No!" I halted, grabbing his arm with my right hand. "We are not Grounders."

Suddenly the ship jerked and I hit the floor, covering Clarke out of pure instinct. The sudden jerking could only mean the rockets fired, and I listened closely, hearing the cries of the Grounders as they were burned alive. I took a deep breath and exhaled, wincing at the pain my body was in.

When all the screaming had died down and the last of the rocket fuel was burned off, Clarke and I opened the drop ship door. She had tied an old rag over my shoulder wound, and I had the last gauze pad pressed on my sternum wound. When the drawbridge hit the ground, it took my eyes a second to adjust to the daylight. All that I could see were charred skeletons and ash everywhere I looked. My eyes wandered to where I last saw Bellamy, his last words echoing in my mind. _"May we meet again."_

I closed my eyes, picturing his face, hoping he was alive out there. When I opened my eyes I saw _something_ was launched over what remained of the camp wall. Once it hit the ground, red smoke filled the air. I coughed as my senses became dull and hazy. Next to me, Clarke collapsed, her eyes closing. I fell soon after, rolling onto my back and I faintly saw someone standing over me with a gun pointed down. My vision blurred and everything went dark.

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

Inside a state of the art operating room, Rayleigh laid on a table with a sheet covering most of her body. A breathing tube was placed down her throat as a female doctor was operating on her. The EKG machine was registering her vitals; her heart rate was at the minimal low of 60 beats per minute and her blood pressure was at the minimal low of 90/60.

Blood was being drained from Rayleigh's chest cavity as the doctor worked to close up the wound in her sternum. The EKG monitor suddenly beeped, the numbers dropping to zero.

"She's flatlining." called a nurse with crimson hair.

"Get the panels." ordered the doctor.

The nurse shocked Rayleigh with the defibrillator, but still no change in her vitals. Another shock, still no change. Shock number three and still nothing.

"I'm calling it." sighed the doctor. "Time of death, 6:27 pm."

The nurse went to shut off the EKG, when suddenly a small chime sounded. The number next to the heart symbol started climbing.

"She's back." the nurse sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the teenage girl on the operating table. "She came back."

"This girl, Rayleigh Griffin," the doctor noted, "she's one tough kid." she turned to the nurse. "Get me another bag of O-neg, Cassie."

"Right away Dr. Tsing." the nurse, Cassie Emerson, complied.

Dr. Tsing, continued her work. "Keep fighting Rayleigh." she prayed. "Don't die on me again."

Rayleigh's skin was a pale as ivory and her blonde hair was flowing down over the table's edge, cascading in waves. Her heart rate and blood pressure slowly climbed back to the normal ranges. Guess, not even Death can claim the Princess Commander. Not yet anyway, fate has other plans for her.

 **~Fin~**

* * *

 **A/N: Well there ya have it, that's the end of this story. Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed. I will be posting a sequel that deals with season two, titled _The Princess Commander: Embracing Darkness_. And as for the Belleigh (Bellamy/Rayleigh) love story, this is just the beginning. Review please!**


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